Project Description

Sometimes mistakenly believed to be a traditional Christmas carol from the West Indies, the words and music for “Calypso Carol” were written in 1964 by one of the United Kingdom’s leading contemporary hymn writers, Michael Perry. At that time Perry was a student at Oak Hill Theological College and he wrote the song for a college carols concert. It became famous virtually by accident when Cliff Richard, who was hastily assembling a selection for radio, included the song in his program to replace a missing recording. It was subsequently included in the 1969 songbook “Youth Praise 2”. “Calypso Carol” steadily gained popularity and, in 2005, was voted one of the top ten choices in the BBC “Songs of Praise” poll of favourite carols for that year.

This arrangement is available in two voicings: SATB and SSA choir, unaccompanied.

Calypso Carol SATB

Calypso Carol SSA