"Joy To The World"
One of our most popular Christmas carols is the result of the efforts of Isaac Watts and Lowell Mason—and, some believe, George Frederick Handel. Watts was a frail, quiet man only five feet tall. Mason was an energetic publisher, choir director, and composer. Handel was a large, robust musical genius. Handel and Watts were contemporaries in London and one imagines they must have appreciated each other's talents. Mason lived 100 years later in Boston.
In 1719 Isaac Watts, already a notable scholar and author, sat down under a tree at the Abney Estate near London and began to compose poetry based on Psalm 98. Watts had begun writing verses as a small child. In his teen years he complained that the songs in church were hard to sing. His father said, "Well, you write some that are better." And so he did. For the next two years, young Isaac wrote a new hymn each week. (He would eventually write more than 600 of them, all based on Scripture.) Today, hymns like "Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed" and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" are hallmarks of the Christian church, and Watts is regarded as "the Father of English Hymnody."
In 1741 George Frederick Handel, who was already famous as the composer of several operas and oratorios, decided that he wanted to do a truly great work. After spending time in prayer, he arose from his knees and for 23 days labored almost continuously day and night. The immortal Messiah, now a Christmas tradition, was the fruit of that incessant struggle.
A nobleman once praised Handel for the "entertainment" he had furnished in one of his compositions. In no uncertain terms Handel let the nobleman know that his music was composed to make men better, not to entertain them.
Almost a century later, Lowell Mason set Watts's poem of "joy" to music. For years it was assumed that Mason used tunes from Handel's Messiah for portions of the arrangement, but the veracity of that claim is now debated among scholars. Listeners can judge for themselves. But this we know: It was Mason who ultimately brought the pieces together to give us "Joy to the world"
Click here to listen to the acapella group Take 6:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=evywpq32Oa0
Click here to listen to the Vienna Boys choir:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlhWQhtTfq4
Click here if you like Michael Bolton:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXY8Vtnrsxc
Click here to listen to a Mannheim Steamroller version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=inhQTvEhsiU
Click here for a solo guitar version:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiVamM-Uk6A
"Go Tell It On The Mountain"
Go Tell It on the Mountain, was the product of the prayers and faith of an unknown slave, probably before the Civil War. He was probably unable to read the Bible, but gleaning from stories he had heard, he imagined the emotions of the shepherds and wise men, though he did not mention them specifically.
Click here to read about the story behind the song:
www.niu.edu/PubAffairs/RELEASES/2004/nov/carol04.shtml
Click here for a Bob Marley arrangement of the carol:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkUjtl3sH_k
Click here for the Aretha Franklin arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-HHh-pSkiA
Click here for the Dolly Parton arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpSGps6Uqco
Click here for the Peter, Paul & Mary arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0nAyWVp-hY&feature=related
Click here for an acapella arrangement by the Voices of Liberty:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=es4UglURN9k
Click here for a great jazz arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBh4Y2m6Vqc&feature=related
"Carol of the Bells"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_of_the_Bells
click here to listen to the George Winston arrangement
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JYrOMK1aDA
click here for a Celtic arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tNbsQ8eDbA
Click here for the Tucson Boys choir
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6TL1ll4nWo
Click here for the Bradford Barlow arrangement the choir will be singing:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E74x_mdblWg
"O Little Town Of Bethlehem"
Click here for the story behind the song:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Little_Town_of_Bethlehem
Click here for a traditional choir arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql0CnTY49mc
Click here if your a Nat King Cole enthusiast:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWq8HxloB6Q
Click here if Kenny Rodgers is your style:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIEVhgqMHso
Click here if you like Elvis:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLTUqVv6Klc
Click here for a contemporary arrangement of the song by First Call:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS7YK2CRfRs
"Untitled Hymn (Come To Jesus)"
"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=
"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 read more about the Carol:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Away_in_a_Manger
Click here to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJO15vuC8g0
Click here to hear a great contemporary arrangement by Third Day
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s96m4Kk5BGU
Click here to listen to a Celtic arrangement
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOJb6uOF05Q
No comments:
Post a Comment