Great Joy to the New

Great Joy to the New opens with ‘Derby Ram’, the surprisingly upbeat story of a gargantuan sheep and the gloriously gory butchering of this magical beast. It’s linked to pagan ram worship ritual. Next comes ‘The Carol of the Beasts’, telling the story of Christ’s nativity from the perspective of the animals involved. There is, throughout Great Joy to the New, an intriguing conversation between the Christian narrative and something other and older. ‘The Wren’ springs from the tradition of children killing a wren, the king of the birds and parading it around the neighbourhood on St Stephen’s Day, collecting money for the funeral. These and songs such as ‘The Wexford Carol’ and ‘Down in Yon Forest’ make the album a selection of some of the most beautiful, melodically and lyrically, Christmas and winter songs. Burns and Doran sing these stories straightforwardly, with mandolin and guitar accompaniment, and are joyfully joined by a choir of friends and a wonderful brass band. They describe their album as ‘a celebration of winter ritual and custom to warm the heart and drive away the cold.’ It is; it does.