Behind the Praise - Sunday December 20, 2009

"Go Tell it on the Mountain"

"Go Tell It on the Mountain" is an African-American spiritual dating back to at least 1865 that has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers. It is considered a Christmas carol because its original lyric celebrates the Nativity: "Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere; go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born."

Like many carols, the precise history of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” is a bit fuzzy. Although generally considered an anonymous work, Studwell believes the piece was written by Frederick Jerome Work (1880-1942), a black composer, teacher and scholar. Work was deeply involved in the collection, arrangement and dissemination of black spirituals, so it is possible, says Studwell, that Work only discovered and preserved the song. However, Studwell’s research has led him to believe that Work actually penned the piece, which was then arranged and disseminated by his nephew John Wesley Work. Studwell places its first publication in the early 1900s, but the piece gained little notice until the 1920s when the Fisk University Singers began performing the song. Even then, it did not make much of a splash.“I looked through hundreds of carol collections and other song books and I could not find it in any collection prior to the 1950s,” says Studwell. About that time the song steadily began to gain in popularity, winning over listeners with energetic beat and its enthusiastic call to action. “Most carols of the 20th century are not so enthusiastic. This is more like some of the older carols, like Joy to the World or Come All Ye Faithful in that regard,” says Studwell. “It shows some real enthusiasm for the Christmas holiday."

Click here to listen to James Taylor sing the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifEUn1AxDYo

Click here to see the various arrangements available:
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=go+tell+it+on+the+mountain+&search_type=&aq=f

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote "Christmas Bells" on Christmas Day 1863 in the midst of the American Civil War and the news of his son Charles Appleton Longfellow having suffered wounds as a soldier in the Battle of New Hope Church, VA during the Mine Run Campaign. He had suffered the great loss of his wife two years prior to an accident with fire. His despair in the following years was recorded in his journal.
The poem has been set to several tunes. The first tune was set in the 1870s by an English organist, John Baptiste Calkin, to his composition "Waltham". Elvis Presley, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Jimmie Rodgers have recorded this version. Less commonly, the poem has also been set to the 1845 composition "Mainzer" by Joseph Mainzer. Johnny Marks, known for his song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", set Longfellow’s poem to music in the 1950s. Marks' version has been recorded by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, Ed Ames, Kate Smith, Frank Sinatra, Sarah McLachlan, Pedro the Lion, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, The Carpenters, MercyMe, Bing Crosby, and Bette Midler. Marks' composition is now generally accepted as the de facto version and is generally what is used for modern recordings of the song, though Calkin's version is still heard as well. In 1990, John Gorka recorded his arrangement entitled "Christmas Bells", which uses stanzas 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the poem. In 2008, Mark Hall, lead vocalist of Casting Crowns, recorded his own arrangement, which was released on their Christmas album, Peace On Earth.

Click here to listen to the Casting Crowns version:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7670CXvPX0

"Good Christian Men Rejoice"


Words: Heinrich Suso (?-1366); Folk­lore has it that Suso, hear­ing an­gels sing these words, joined them in a dance of wor­ship. This song has survived several complex revisions since its anonymous fourteenth-century creation. In 1601, Bartholomaeus Gesius wrote a modern arrangement of the traditional tune, now called "In Dulci Jubilo." Later, Johann Sebastian Bach included Gesius's theme in his Chorale Preludes for the organ. In its next generation, Sir John Stainer made further refinements to the tune under its new title, "Nun singet und seid froh." The Christmas song that we enjoy today is courtesy of Reverend Dr. John Mason Neale, who translated the lyrics into English from German.


Click here to listen to a wonderful choral arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAHe1i27U6c

Click here for an organ arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N-ZAHRfRF8

"Away in a Manger"

Away in a manager is always the first carol that children are taught. Away in a Manger was originally published in 1885. The publication of Away in a Manger was in a Lutheran Sunday school book and this created the misconception that the lyrics of Away in a Manger were actually written by Martin Luther himself. The author is unknown. The music to Away in a Manger was composed by William J. Kirkpatrick in 1895.

Click here to see the various versions available:
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=away+in+a+manger&search_type=&aq=f

Click here to hear celtic arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOJb6uOF05Q

"Untitled Hymn"

This song by Chris Rice was on his recording "Run the earth and watch the sky". What a great name for a recording.

Click here to learn more about Chris
www.christianmusic.com/chrisrice/bio.html

Click here to worship along with the song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=39XD1ImxGWw&mode=related&search=

Click here to listen to worship along with song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_4g8_e16dc&mode=related&search=

"God is With Us"

Lisa Speir will share this reflective song by Casting Crowns. Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhzWypOp-E4&feature=PlayList&p=827530AE83D06DAF&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=8