Requested by Phoebe, Go Tell It On the Mountain–and do I really need to introduce Mahalia Jackson? Take one step backward if you haven’t heard of her!
Tag: Christmas 2024
‘Gesu Bambino’
You don’t think I’d let Christmas go by without posting Gesu Bambino by Pavarotti–did you? Perish the thought!
And here he’s got help from the Wandsworth School Boys’ Choir and the National Philharmonic Orchestra. You’ve gotta love it!
The Day After the Day After Christmas
Do any of you still have Christmas presents to unwrap? How many of you have dogs and cats to help you?
Patty and I are officially Hanging Out today. This year was a right stinker and we need a rest! And it’s sunny out today, so I can have a cigar. I’m convinced that time in the sun is good for me. I’ve just had six weeks in a hospital bed without it.
This afternoon we’ll watch a movie, and it sounds like spaghetti and meat balls for supper.
And yes, we’re still open to hymn requests. At least till New Year’s.
By Request, ‘Mary, Did You Know?’
I got a couple of requests for this hymn today. Well, first come, first served. This one, requested by “Someone” (which “Someone” is that? Is everybody getting bashful? Performed by Pentatonix.
‘The Wexford Carol’
Voice and cello, Alison Krauss and Yo-Yo Ma–a wonderful treatment of the Wexford Carol. And with bagpipes, too! I love the combination.
Let’s keep our Christmas going!
One More Christmas Carol
I was about to close up shop for the day, but I couldn’t resist Good King Wenceslas as performed by the Irish Rovers.
Just for the record, Wenceslas wasn’t a king; he was the Duke of Bohemia. And he’s also a saint. That’s better than a king.
‘Good Christian Men Rejoice’
It took me a night and two days to remember the title of this carol, but I got it, finally, while I was having my cigar: Good Christian Men Rejoice, performed by the choir and congregation at Grace Community Church.
I love the way this sounds, when played outdoors in the snow by a street band.
Beyond Christmas Day
I missed almost all the run-up to Christmas, and I couldn’t see my way to setting up a carol contest. But hang it all, I want my Christmas! I want the Christmas spirit to dwell here for a while.
So I’ll keep on taking and post Christmas hymn requests. Ask for your favorite carols: I’ll keep at it till New Year’s.
Here’s one of mine: I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing. Yes, I do know you can’t actually sail a ship to Bethlehem. But how badly does that matter?
By Request,’Silent Night’
Well, we couldn’t let Christmas go by without posting Silent Night, could we? Thanks, Phoebe, for requesting it.
Here we have it from the choir at Kings College, Cambridge.
Christmas Day, 2024
Bunny, you’ve shown us the way: enjoy a nice nap under the Christmas tree.
We don’t have a Christmas tree this year, and I’m probably lucky to be here at all–dangerous illness and all that. This is only my seventh day home, and I have a very long way to go to recovery. Meanwhile, no wreath, no lights
And yet it feels like Christmas! How can that be? My family has died out or moved far away, I’m in no condition to put up any decorations, I wasn’t able to buy any presents… Why does it still feel so much like Christmas?
The grace of God in Jesus Christ our King: that’s the only answer that occurs to me.