On Christmas night all Christians sing, To hear what news those angels bring ...
This is my favorite Christmas carol, the Sussex carol, I guess because it seems so cheerful :) ...
I revert to my origins thus time of year and listen to the Polish Christmas Carols or kolędy pronounced koh-len-dee. I'm youtubing them onto the tv right now. Great singalong if your mouth can do backward somersaults. Wesowych Swiąt to you all.
We have our Koledy Mass next Saturday evening. There's barely anyone left in the parish who knows Polish anymore, but they remember these carols. The favorite is Ej Bylismy Bracia which is usually the exit song. Everybody can sing the refrain, "Hej koleda, koleda!" A quieter one which we'll probably do tomorrow is Lulajze Jesuniu. I probably didn't spell them right since I'm not Polish. But I can sing them if I have the phonetic versions that some long -ago nun wrote out.
Good for you, Katherine. Polish is difficult. I can pronounce it well but my vocabulary is lousy. Understanding and speaking Polish well is on my bucket list.
Here are the Cambridge Singers conducted by John Rutter singing "Ding Dong Merrily on High"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne-ynYn1BLw
And the same group singing a John Rutter original composition called "The Donkey Carol". My wife first pointed out to me the good flute work on it (she was a flutist for many years). It's in 5/4 time which sort of gives it the feel of a donkey bouncing along in an irregular rhythm.
And for something a bit different, this is Alison Krauss and Yo-Yo Ma (but mostly Alison Krauss :-)) singing "Wexford Carol". There is something about that song that I've always found kind of haunting, and Krauss captures it well.
We sang this one in the Unitarian Church, from Longfellow's poem. "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." Here's some kid singing it in an alternate tune from the one we used. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZBYa_YGE5Y
I like that poem, and I have thought of it often this Advent. Longfellow wrote it in 1863. No matter how dark our own time seems, that time was darker. There are some "lost" verses referencing the Civil War which are not included in the Christmas carol version.
We sang this version of "Silent Night" with "Night of Silence" as a counter melody this morning at Mass. I like it, the words "Frozen in the snow lie roses sleeping, Flowers that will echo the sunrise..." appeal to me as a message of hope. Hope everyone is having a nice Christmas!
I revert to my origins thus time of year and listen to the Polish Christmas Carols or kolędy pronounced koh-len-dee. I'm youtubing them onto the tv right now. Great singalong if your mouth can do backward somersaults. Wesowych Swiąt to you all.
ReplyDeleteWe have our Koledy Mass next Saturday evening. There's barely anyone left in the parish who knows Polish anymore, but they remember these carols. The favorite is Ej Bylismy Bracia which is usually the exit song. Everybody can sing the refrain, "Hej koleda, koleda!" A quieter one which we'll probably do tomorrow is Lulajze Jesuniu. I probably didn't spell them right since I'm not Polish. But I can sing them if I have the phonetic versions that some long -ago nun wrote out.
DeleteGood for you, Katherine. Polish is difficult. I can pronounce it well but my vocabulary is lousy. Understanding and speaking Polish well is on my bucket list.
DeleteI've never heard Polish carols - must look some up on youtube.
DeleteLike the Polonaise, they're in Lydian mode, or so Leonard Bernstein said. You'll hear the pattern.
DeleteCrystal, the Sussex Carol is lovely. I have a CD of carols by the King's College, Cambridge choir, it's one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteI had a CD of carols - Song of Angels by the Robert Shaw singers - but it was kind of grim sounding ;) Here's the Coventry carol from them.
ReplyDeleteI love the Sussex Carol, too.
ReplyDeleteHere are the Cambridge Singers conducted by John Rutter singing "Ding Dong Merrily on High"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne-ynYn1BLw
And the same group singing a John Rutter original composition called "The Donkey Carol". My wife first pointed out to me the good flute work on it (she was a flutist for many years). It's in 5/4 time which sort of gives it the feel of a donkey bouncing along in an irregular rhythm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHGONqqvGq4
And for something a bit different, this is Alison Krauss and Yo-Yo Ma (but mostly Alison Krauss :-)) singing "Wexford Carol". There is something about that song that I've always found kind of haunting, and Krauss captures it well.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxDZjg_Igoc
That's beautiful, I like both the Wexford Carol and Alison Krauss.
DeleteThanks, Jim :)
ReplyDeleteWe sang this one in the Unitarian Church, from Longfellow's poem. "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." Here's some kid singing it in an alternate tune from the one we used. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZBYa_YGE5Y
ReplyDeleteJoyous day, everyone!
I like that poem, and I have thought of it often this Advent. Longfellow wrote it in 1863. No matter how dark our own time seems, that time was darker. There are some "lost" verses referencing the Civil War which are not included in the Christmas carol version.
DeleteI think the Civil War references were added later, and the tune in 1870s. Where this tune came from, I don't know. It's pretty, though.
DeleteWe sang this version of "Silent Night" with "Night of Silence" as a counter melody this morning at Mass. I like it, the words "Frozen in the snow lie roses sleeping, Flowers that will echo the sunrise..." appeal to me as a message of hope. Hope everyone is having a nice Christmas!
ReplyDelete