'Twas In The Moon Of Wintertime

S. 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime (Huron Carole)
Words: trans. from traditional QuebecIWords by Jesse Middleton/Music: 16th Century French Folk Song
Here, The Nativity is described in American Indian imagery. The Huron Indians, who were driven
into Quebec, insisted that the author was Jean Brebeuf, a missionary to their ancestors in the Georgian
Bay by 1625. In 1649 the Huron settlements were destroyed by the Iroquois, and Brebeuf was
killed. The old French folk melody, "Une Jeune Pucelle" is at least as old as 1575, so Brebeufcould
have known it. The Ursuline Sisters of Quebec said they had no trouble teaching the Hurons Gregorian
Chants, which are modal, like much Indian music. The combination of these elements produced
this hymn