PICARDY is a French "noel," a carol tune thought to date back to the seventeenth century. The tune was first published in Chansons Populaires des Provences de France (vol. IV, Paris, 1860); the melody was written down as sung by a Madame Pierre Dupont in Champfleury-Wekerlin to “Jesus Christ s'habille en pauvre,” a folk song she remembered from her childhood in Picardy, an old province in northern France. PICARDY was first published with "Let All Mortal Flesh" in The English Hymnal (1906).

The tune is more solemn than other French carols (see 347). With its minor tonality PICARDY is a fine vehicle for supporting the majesty expressed in this text. Sing in unison with some sense of contemplation, mystery, and awe. Use restraint on the organ (or any accompaniment) throughout the first two stanzas, but let it become more brilliant on stanza 3. Pull out all the stops on the "alleluias" of stanza 4.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook