From our friend in Australia, “Optimal Play,” This Little Baby is Born, sung by Ross Wilson, backed up by the Melbourne Salvation Army Band. Thanks, mate!
I can only work half an hour more this morning, then I’ve got to go Christmas shopping. We buy a lot of stuff online, but I still like to visit the stores and imbibe a festive air–and I might see something that’d make a jim-dandy present but which I never would have thought of without seeing it.
I’ll be back this afternoon.
Before I get into any more news (I suppose I’ll have to, *sigh*), let’s have this from Erlene–Wise Men Follow Him, sung by Carroll Roberson.
Lord, if we ever needed a Savior, we need you now! Come, Lord Jesus, come.
This is one of our older Christmas carols, On This Day Earth Shall Ring: lyrics published in 1582, and the melody has been traced by into the 1300s in Finland. Performed here by St. Malachy’s College Choir, Belfast.
Turn up the volume and open the window–this poor world needs Christmas!
Erlene called for this one–O Holy Night, sung by Josh Groban–and it’s just beautiful. Open a window and turn up the volume. The world needs to hear God’s message of salvation.
The clips are from a film called The Nativity Story.
Like another song says, Go tell it on the mountain–that Jesus Christ is born!
This high-spirited performance of Ding-Dong Merrily on High is by the Idaho Falls Symphony Orchestra with the combined choirs of the area high schools–well worth turning up the volume!
I keep looking for a rendition of this hymn with a harpsichord solo, but haven’t found one yet.
Hey, everybody! Let’s sing this Christmas in with a bang! I’m waiting for your Christmas hymn requests.
Our friend “theWhiteRabbit” asked for The Little Drummer Boy. I hope you like this performance of it by Celtic Woman.
Do you believe this? God looked down on the world and saw it was just as cruel, just as bad, as in the days of Noah. The strong prey on the weak, lies prey on truth, and the cry of it goes all the way up to Heaven. How can God heal it?
He sends a baby. Born in a manger, because there was no room at the inn.
Told you Christianity is wild!
I love this carol. Yeah, I know, it’s getting so I say that about all of them. Well, I can’t help it.
Pat-a-Pan is an ancient Burgundian Christmas carol, sung here by the Zamar Student Choir from the Harrisburg Baptist Church in Mississippi. It might not be the only Pat-a-Pan I post this season, but we shall see.
This gorgeous hymn, composed by St. Saens, sung here by Libera, is good for any time of the year. It’s like a clean wind from God, a mighty wind that blows away the darkness and the dirt. Turn up the volume!
As a sidelight, it was the basis for the theme music in the movie, Babe (the one about the pig)… which, oddly enough, is the second time this week that Babe has come up in relation to Christmas.
This is the theme music for the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol, starring George C. Scott as Scrooge. Nick Bicat composed the music, and the street scenes were shot in Shrewsbury, England. If you haven’t seen it, trust me, it’s wonderful.
The story itself is a reminded that God created us for good works–not to buy our way into Heaven, but to be vessels of God’s love, living testimony to His sanctifying power, and instruments of His goodness.
I wanted to wash the bad taste out of my mouth, left by the world’s nooze, and so I turned to this: Gesu Bambino, sung by the immortal Luciano Pavarotti–and now I can’t swallow so good, and there are tears in my eyes.
Tears of joy for the beauties of holiness, for the Christmas season, for the good news, the best news–Jesus Christ is born!