If you love excellent choral music, cue up the video below and play this 1991 recording as you enjoy Christmas Day and the remainder of this Holy Season. If you have a Smart TV with a sound bar, as Warren and I do, even better!
The Choral Arts Society of Washington has been a choir of the top order, both nationally and internationally, since 1965. Members of the choir are not paid! If approved by a grueling audition (fewer than one in four pass the test), these "amateur" musicians sing because they so love music.
(Personal note: I had the privilege of being in the alto section of the Choral Arts Society of Washington from its founding under the baton of Maestro Norman Scribner, until the spring of 1968, when I resigned so that I could prepare to go to college. I'll be ever grateful to Maestro Scribner on taking a chance on a child of thirteen to be join a choir of adult singers. Oh, the training I received!)
00:00 JOY TO THE WORLD for brass
00:57 OF THE FATHER'S LOVE BEGOTTEN
04:11 JAUCHZET, FROHLOCKET! | Bach
12:20 TOMORROW SHALL BE MY DANCING DAY | Rutter
15:23 I SAW THREE SHIPS | Vaughn Williams
16:54 THE HOLLY AND THE IVY | Rutter
19:48 FANTASIA ON ‘GREENSLEEVES’ | Vaughn Williams
24:32 IN DULCI JUBILO for organ | Bach
25:46 NOEL NOUVELET
29:12 BOGORODITSE DEVO, RADUYSA | Rachmaninoff
32:14 WELCOME, ALL WONDERS | Dirksen
39:13 VOLTE | Praetorius
39:58 INTONATION for organ | Gabrieli/IN DULCI JUBILO | Scheidt
44:41 O COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL | Willcocks
48:11 DECK THE HALLS | Shaw-Parker
49:21 MARY HAD A BABY | Dawson
52:35 CANDLELIGHT CAROL | Rutter
56:51 STILLE NACHT | Gruber
59:44 ZITHER CAROL | Sargent
1:01:32 BRING A TORCH | Shaw-Parker
1:03:01 WILLIE, TAKE YOUR LITTLE DRUM | Hall
1:04:37 CANTIQUE DE NOEL | Adams
1:08:55 SHEDRYK
1:10:06 A MERRY CHRISTMAS | Warrell
1:11:30 HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING | Willocks
(Originally posted on "Longrange" for Christmas 2004)
4:00 am 12/24/04
There was a knock on my front door which startled me awake. My dogs were barking which required my dire threats to quieten them as I answered the door.
Maybe you have heard of our weather and the unusually cold temperatures and large amount of snow that has fallen in the last 24 hours. I live just south of Interstate 64 in Southern Indiana and you may have seen the news about the closed Interstate and stranded motorists on the national news.
A man in his early fifties, about my own age, stood at the door. He was wearing tennis shoes, jeans, a field jacket and sock hat. His glasses were frosted and his pale white hands and reddened knuckles gave witness that he wore no gloves.
He told me he was lost and asked for directions to a certain address. I told him that he missed his mark by a mile and a half and asked him where his car was. He said he was walking.
I invited him in and sat a chair for him by the warm air from the furnace vent. He was shivering uncontrollably and a faint whiff of alcohol was on his breath. I asked if I could fix him something to eat but he refused and accepted a hot cup of coffee.
My wife talked to him as he warmed himself and I could hear him speaking as I prepared his fresh coffee.
My son heard his voice and came into the living room to sit and listen, and to watch, just in case.
His story unfolded.
He was homeless veteran, he had been sleeping in a box, under a bridge over the Ohio river, several miles to the West. He had decided that it was too cold and he might freeze to death if he didn't find safe shelter with more than a cardboard box to keep him warm. About midnight, he had left his meager possessions and headed for his sisters home, a mile or so from my own home. He had walked past in the blowing snow and the dark but continued walking. He was lost, confused and probably somewhat drunk. Hypothermia can add confusion to even the sober mind.
As he spoke, I realized that he had mental problems as do many of the homeless.
There are places that provide refuge for the indigent, I'm sure he knew, but they don't accept anyone who is intoxicated, which I'm also sure he knew.
He drank his coffee then asked me if I would drive him to his sisters home. He then offered me two dollars. Of course I refused the money but offered to take him where he wanted to go.
I intended to take measures to see after him and he seemed anxious to leave.
As I drove, he told me that his sister was out of town but he had permission to use her house in an emergency. I was worried that he was just lying for reasons of his own but I was determined to see the thing through, even if I had to call the police to ensure his well-being through this cold weather.
As we drove up to the house, there was a porch light on and smoke coming from the chimney vent. Even so, it was apparent that there was no one home, the snow around the house was undisturbed.
I asked him if he was sure he could get in, he said, "Yes, she (his sister) told me where the key is." He reached out his hand, as if for a hand shake, and when I offered mine, pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it saying, "God bless you".
I was profoundly embarrassed but stayed long enough to see him dig around in the snow and find a key, unlock the door and wave goodbye.
I drove home, my thoughts disturbed, by the events that had taken place.
My wife was relieved as I returned and I started preparing food (very early,) for Christmas Eve. As I cut up fruit for salad and prepared the turkey for baking, my son came up behind me, hugged me and kissing my head, said, "Dad, you did a good thing."
Again, I was embarrassed, not by my son's hug and kiss but by his praise.
It was the right thing to do.
My son told me that he tries to help the homeless ones that hang around his place of employment. We spoke of how little we can actually do for them and I was proud of my son for being a good man and doing the right thing.
As I continued to prepare food for Christmas Eve, my thoughts drifted to a couple seeking shelter in Bethlehem and the birth of the Lamb of the New Covenant, and I felt God's Peace.
May God's Peace and blessings be with you all!
Merry Christmas.
Warren
Post Note:
First, please watch "Mary, Did You Know?" as performed by the Pentatonix, an a capella group. I hope that you love it as much as I do:
====
Eighteen years ago, I first posted this true story -yes it actually happened- and I am always asked to brush the cobwebs off and re-post it for Christmas. The post note is changed to reflect my feelings and events.
"Mary, Did You Know?" by the Pentatonix, is my favorite Christmas Carol. If you haven't heard this version before or if you would like to hear it again, I urge you to put on your headphones or good speakers and have a listen.
Maybe below you could tell me your favorite Carol. This year, I'm spending Christmas with my new bride, AOW, in our new home. It has been a year of many happy changes.
Christmas Eve, we shall celebrate with one of my brothers and my son and daughter-in-law.
Once again, and to all my friends -and you know who you are!-
Merry Christmas!
Warren
Merry Christmas to all who stop by this site. Be blest!
Weep for our republic, which is being driven into the ground by the federal-government big spenders ("public servants"). Both parties are guilty of political malpractice!
(For politics and an open thread, please scroll down)
First, read about the Choir of King's College (emphases mine):
The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, is one of the world’s best-known choral groups. Founded in the 15th century, it ranks among the oldest of its kind, and, while originally created for singing the daily services in the college chapel, now enjoys an international tour schedule that has seen it perform all over Europe and beyond. Every Christmas Eve, millions of people tune in to watch the choir’s A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s – a service which has been continuously broadcast since 1928.
(Light blogging alert! Comment moderation will be intermittently enabled. And for politics, please scroll down)
Dear Blogosphere Friends,
2020 – the Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic. I never thought I’d see the day that Americans were running around in masks! Some are even masked while driving alone in their cars – pure hysteria, in my view. Taking precautions is one thing, hysteria another. One of our precautions has been to postpone our planned moved to Indiana. Both Mr. AOW and I are quite high-risk for this virus. So, here we still sit in Northern Virginia and paying these outrageous real-estate taxes. Thanks, China. **heavy sarcasm**
This has been a sorrowful year for us. Our dear friend Patricia (aka blogger “The Merry Widow”), who helped us so much when I had kidney and other health troubles in 2016-2017 and who was also helping us with The Big Clean Out for our anticipated move to Indiana, died suddenly in Florida on March 29. What a terrible loss! Each of us an only child, Patricia and I considered ourselves sisters. She was planning to move with us to Indiana, too. We miss Patricia so much and on so many levels.
This year, Mr. AOW and I have been having some health troubles – not a surprise for our age group (71 and 68, respectively). As of this writing, he is in Stage 4 Kidney Failure, and the doctors believe that the cause is long-standing diabetes and hypertension. My kidneys have been “acting up,” too; the treatment plan, if any, has not yet been determined. We’re doing our best to slog on. What other choice is do we have? Not much!
Our other big personal news of 2020 is that we got a dog on September 3! Callie is an unruly three-year-old hound and Lab (and whatever else) mutt with poor training on nearly every imaginable scale – and nearly-total deafness, which her owner didn’t recognize before this mutt came to live with us. Her bloodlines and issues aside, Callie is adorable and has brought a lot of joy into our shut-in lives! I’m sure that our kitties Amber and Minxy don’t feel the same, though; they have had to cede to this canine brat quite a bit of in-house territory.
The happiest time for us in 2020, annus horribilis, Governor Northam’s COVID measures permitting, will be another visit from our dear friend and this blog's webmaster Warren. He plans to spend the holidays with us. A wonderful time it will be – even if doing the tourist thing is well nigh impossible with regard to the usual Washington attractions: the Smithsonian and other D.C. and Virginia tourist sites are either closed or have impossibly limited hours during this pandermic. Nevertheless, the Winter Walk of Lights at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia, is still, as of this writing, offering their usual dazzling displays; Warren and I hope to take in that beautiful sight. CHECK OUT THESE PHOTOS! GLORIOUS! During the rest of Warren’s visit, all of us will be enjoying each other’s company. A wonderful gift in and of itself, especially during this time of lockdowns and isolated existence!
Celebrating this BlessedSeason and MerryChristmas to all who stop by here,
Lyrics for this traditional Irish Christmas Carol based upon the Nativity Story told in Holy Scripture:
Good people all, this Christmas time,
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending his beloved son
With Mary holy we should pray,
To God with love this Christmas Day
In Bethlehem upon that morn,
There was a blessed Messiah born.
[...]
Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep
To whom God's angels did appear
Which put the shepherds in great fear
Prepare and go, the angels said
To Bethlehem, be not afraid
For there you'll find, this happy morn
A princely babe, sweet Jesus, born.
With thankful heart and joyful mind
The shepherds went this babe to find
And as God's angel had foretold
They did our Saviour Christ behold
Within a manger he was laid
And by his side the virgin maid
Attending on the Lord of Life
Who came on earth to end all strife.
[...]
Good people all, this Christmas time,
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending his beloved son
With Mary holy we should pray,
To God with love this Christmas Day
In Bethlehem upon that morn,
There was a blessed Messiah born.
Merry Christmas to all who stop by this site. Be blest!
[about "Carol of the Bells", composed 1914 by Ukrainian Mykola Leontovych, who was assassinated by Soviet agents in 1921 while he was celebrating the Orthodox Feast of the Nativity]
For the fourth Sunday in Advent, enjoy this a capella arrangement of "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," a Sixteenth Century German carol emphasizing prophecies about our Lord's Incarnation:
Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming,
As men of old have sung.
It came, a flow’ret bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.
Isaiah ’twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright,
She bore to men a Savior,
When half spent was the night.
This Flow’r, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere.
True man, yet very God,
From sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.
They have done a wonderful job bringing forth the beauty, and Divine Culture into the outer world, and as the prayer goes in Christian circles, we ask "Thy Kingdom Come." This is how His Kingdom does come, we bring it here with our choices and actions....
The story that never grows old and offers Mankind eternal Hope — even in the midst of personal and political turmoil! Beautifully performed by King’s College Choir Cambridge, 2011:
Lyrics:
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Nahum Tate
While shepherds watched their flocks by night
All seated on the ground
The angel of the Lord came down
And glory shone around, and glory shone around
"Fear not," said he, for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled mind
"Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind, to you and all mankind
"To you, in David's town this day
Is born of David's line
The Savior who is Christ the Lord
And this shall be the sign, and this shall be the sign
"The heav'nly Babe you there shall find
To human view displayed
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands
And in a manger laid, and in a manger laid
"All glory be to God on high
And to the earth be peace
Good will hence forth from heav'n to men
Begin and never cease, begin and never cease"
The formal smartness of the US president and the first lady adds to the emotional numbness of the scene
The absence of intimacy in the Trumps’ official Christmas portrait freezes the heart. Can it be that hard to create a cosy image of the presidential couple, perhaps in front of a roaring hearth, maybe in seasonal knitwear? Or is this quasi-dictatorial image exactly what the president wants to project? Look on my Christmas trees, ye mighty, and despair! If so, it fuels suspicions that it is only the checks and balances of a 230-year-old constitution that are keeping America from the darkest of political fates.
You couldn’t create a creepier Yuletide scene if you tried. Multiple Christmas trees are currently a status symbol for the wealthy, but this picture shows the risks. Instead of a homely symbol of midwinter cheer, these disciplined arboreal ranks with their uniform decorations are arrayed like massed soldiers or colossal columns designed by Albert Speer. The setting is the Cross Hall in the White House and, while the incumbent president cannot be held responsible for its architecture, why heighten its severity with such rigid, heartless seasonal trappings?
Everything here communicates cold, empty magnificence. Tree lights that are as frigid as icicles are mirrored in a cold polished floor. Equally frosty illuminations are projected on the ceiling. Instead of twinkling fairy magic, this lifeless lighting creates a sterile, inhuman atmosphere. You can’t imagine kids playing among these trees or any conceivable fun being had by anyone. It suggests the micromanaged, corporate Christmas of a Citizen Kane who has long since lost touch with the ordinary, warm pleasures of real life.
In the centre of this disturbing piece of conceptual art stand Donald and Melania Trump. He’s in a tuxedo, she’s wearing white – and not a woolly hat in sight. Their formal smartness adds to the emotional numbness of the scene.
Trump’s shark-like grin has nothing generous or friendly about it. He seems to want to show off his beautiful wife and his fantastic home rather than any of the cuddly holiday spirit a conventional politician might strive to share at this time. It begs a question: how can a man who so glaringly lacks anything like a common touch be such a successful “populist”? What can a midwestern voter find in this image to connect with?
Perhaps that’s the point. After more than two centuries of democracy, Trump is offering the US people a king, or emperor. In this picture, he gives full vent to his inner tyrant. If this portrait contains any truth about the state of America and the world, may Santa help us all.
Can you imagine the howls of outrage if such things had been written about the Obamas, particularly in a major newspaper?
In my view, it is true that the Trumps are not cuddly teddy bears around whom the American people can wrap themselves. Is it really a necessary Presidential quality to ooze warmth, particularly in the magnificent Cross Hall of the White House?
Many years ago during a series of summer concerts, I had the privilege of working under the directing baton of organist, composer, and director Richard Wayne Dirksen at the Washington National Cathedral. Below is one of his choral pieces, a glorious celebration of the birth of Christ the Lord. Ever since I obtained a recording of "Welcome All Wonders," I never let a Christmas go by without listening to that recording of this glorious musical celebration of the birth of Christ the Lord. Enjoy:
Lyrics:
Welcome all wonders in one sight! Eternity shut in a span. Summer in winter, day in night, Heaven in earth, and God in man. That He, the old Eternal Word, should be a Child and weep. Each of us his lamb will bring, each his pair of silver doves, Till burnt at last in fire of thy fair eyes, ourselves become our own best sacrifice. Welcome all wonders in one sight!
