In case you hadn’t noticed, our Second Annual Christmas Carol Contest is still running, and will run till Jan. 6, next Monday. So if you haven’t entered a carol yet–well, why not?
So we have this hymn request from SlimJim, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. I hope you like this performance by Amy Grant.
I’m crazy for the harpsichord, and I was looking for a harpsichord rendition of Ding-Dong Merrily on High. There’s supposed to be a harpsichord in here, somewhere.
But never mind! Go ahead–just try to sit still while this is playing! It’s the Idaho Falls Symphony Orchestra, with several high school choirs, and it’s just wonderful.
I’ve heard church bells playing this hymn, but I never knew what it was called until today, when TheWhiteRabbit requested it: A Great and Mighty Wonder, sung by the Kings College Choir.
Here’s another Christmas hymn request from Joshua, one I haven’t heard before, published in 1866–Who is He in Yonder Stall?, sung by Enfield.
It would be remiss of me not to post this at Christmastime, one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written, and written to the glory of the Lord–Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, by J.S. Bach. The rendition by Celtic Woman is a little over-produced visually, for my taste–but the sound! If this doesn’t stir your soul, I don’t know what will.
Requested by Ina, In the Bleak Midwinter, sung by the choir and congregation at Gloucester Cathedral.
Let’s keep the carols coming, everybody. I don’t want to write up any nooze this weekend unless it’s absolutely unavoidable.
Requested by TheWhiteRabbit–Luciano Pavarotti singing Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful), at Notre Dame Cathedral, Montreal. This video was made in 1978–wow, has it really been 41 years? But the hymn, the day, and the power of the Holy Spirit are ageless.
Requested by Erlene–Do You Have Room for Jesus?, by Carroll Roberson with his wife, Donna… and some of God’s clean, soft snow.
Requested by Joshua (I have to hustle, to post it before he goes to bed–oh, those pesky time zones!), this ancient and beautiful hymn, What Child Is This? Sung by Fernando Ortega. Oh, fap, my eyes are tearing up again!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote these verses in 1863 at the height of the Civil War, and on the heels of personal tragedy: his wife died in a fire, and his son was severely wounded in battle.
Sung by Burl Ives, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.