1970s •
British folk rock group
Steeleye Span had a hit in 1973 (No. 14, UK singles chart) with an
a cappella recording of the song. Guitarist
Bob Johnson had heard the song when he attended a folk-carol service with his father-in-law in
Cambridge, and brought it to the attention of the rest of the band. (Unlike the album version which fades up slowly and fades down slowly, the single was at the same volume for the entire length of the song.) This single is one of only two top 20 British hits to be sung fully in Latin (the other was a recording of "Pie Jesu" from
Andrew Lloyd Webber's
Requiem performed by
Sarah Brightman and
Paul Miles-Kingston in 1986). "Gaudete" is also one of only a handful of a cappella performances to become hit singles. When "Gaudete" was performed on
Top of the Pops, the resident dance troupe walked onto the set in medieval-style robes, holding candles, followed by the members of Steeleye Span.
1980s • Pertti Neumann, a Finnish singer-songwriter and frontman of the 1980s pop-rock group
Dingo recorded a version of "Gaudete" for his first solo album
Albion, released in 1986.
Boy soprano solo vocals were provided by Niko Haukkala of the choir
Cantores Minores.
1990s • British vocal ensemble
King's Singers recorded "Gaudete" for their 1990
A Little Christmas Music album. • The
Boston Camerata, under the direction of
Joel Cohen, recorded a version of "Gaudete" entitled "Gaudete, Gaudete" for the Dec 1985 album
A Renaissance Christmas. • An arrangement featuring the
Choir of Clare College Cambridge, accompanied by a cello ensemble, descant recorder and medieval tabor under the direction of Geoffrey Simon, was recorded in 1996 for a CD entitled
A Cello Christmas on the Cala Records label. • Irish choral group
Anúna performed "Gaudete" on their 1996 CD,
Omnis with a solo by
Eurovision Song Contest (1996) winner
Eimear Quinn. • In 1997, it was recorded by the female vocal group
Mediæval Bæbes as part of their No. 2 selling classical recording
Salva Nos and also on their Christmas themed recording
Mistletoe and Wine (2003). • In 1999, harpist
Kim Robertson offered a rendition of the song on her disc
The Spiral Gate. • In 1999, a version by El Duende was included on Projekt Records' compilation album ''Excelsis Vol. 2: a winter's song''.
2000s • A group of
Dominican friars based in Cracow, Poland, recorded a choral version of "Gaudete" for their 2004 album
Jezu, Śliczny Kwiecie (
Jesus, Oh Lovely Flower), released under the name Bracia dominikanie (Brothers Dominicans). • The British boy choir
Libera recorded "Gaudete" on their 2001 album
Luminous, and performed the song on
Aled Jones' DVD ''Aled's Christmas Carols'' in 2008. Libera has also included this song on at least 3 Christmas albums, in 2011, 2013, and 2019. • A version using a male soloist was released on
Anúna's CD and DVD
Celtic Origins (2007) and was broadcast across the USA in 2007–2008 on
PBS. •
Tenebrae released a version arranged by
Karl Jenkins, both with percussion and as a pure
a cappella version in October 2004 on the album
Gaudete. • German
medieval rock band Schelmish performed "Gaudete" on their 2006 album
Mente Capti. •
Chris Squire and a choir recorded a rock version on the 2007 Christmas album ''
Chris Squire's Swiss Choir''.
2010s • Choral ensemble
Anúna included the song in an arrangement by
Michael McGlynn on the
PBS Television special
Anúna : Celtic Origins and the CD release of the same name (2007). • "Gaudete" was recorded a cappella by
Pure Reason Revolution as a Christmas bonus track on their EP, "Valour" (2011). • British alternative rock band
Cauda Pavonis included a recording of "Gaudete" on their 2012 Christmas EP entitled
Saturnalia. • The Irish group
Celtic Thunder recorded "Gaudete" on their 2013 album
Christmas Voices. • On 28 October 2013, British
synth-pop group
Erasure released their electronic version of "Gaudete" as the first single off their Christmas-themed album
Snow Globe. Their version reached the Top 30 in
UK indie singles chart and the Top 40 in
Billboard dance chart. • Serpentyne recorded an ambient/rock version on their 2014 CD
Myth & Muses. • The St. Paul's Cathedral Choir included the song on their 2015 Christmas album "Carols with St. Paul's Cathedral Choir" under director Andrew Carwood. • The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist included a traditional choral version of "Gaudete" on their 2017 album, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring: Christmas with the Dominican Sisters of Mary". • All-female acapella group
Papagena sang a 'funky upbeat' version of Gaudete on
The Darkest Midnight tour in December 2017, and released it on the eponymous album in early 2018.
2020s •
Celtic music group
Runa included an upbeat rendition of the song in an arrangement of Brightest and Best, Gaudete and Noel Nouvelet on their 2020 CD album, "The Tide of Winter". • Sam Battle of
Look Mum No Computer rearranged the song to be played on a set of modular analog synthesisers as part of an electro 2022 Christmas Carol compilation.
Parodies • In 2013, a parody arrangement of "Gaudete", called "
Crudités", was released by the British
folk duet Blanche Rowen & Mike Gulston. • A parody of "Gaudete", replacing the original words of the verses by sex-related terms, was recorded by the German
medieval metal band
Potentia Animi on their 2004 album
Das Erst Gebet. • In the TV comedy ''
I'm Alan Partridge'', Alan manages to take Jill from his production company on a date to an owl sanctuary. In the car on the way home, Alan promises Jill something that "will blow your socks off" before singing along in an over-the-top manner to the Steeleye Span version of Gaudete on the car stereo. ==See also==