Ding Dong Merrily On High

This well know Christmas Carol has a French tune from the 16th century dance book Orchésographie, written by Jehan Tabourot. The original title is 'Le branle de l'Official'.

The lyrics were written by Englishman George Ratcliffe Woodward in 1924. Woodward took an interest in church bell ringing, which is easy to hear in his lyrics, and the arrangement also tries to portray this.
The song is unusual in that the verse is sung in an old-style English, while the chorus is in latin, with it's signature melisma on the word 'Gloria'.