Something Old, Something New for Christmas, Part III

Introduction

Today’s “old” piece is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, which is at least 15th century in origin and perhaps as old as the 8th century. In the original Latin, the title is Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, and we’ll take a look at the lyrics in both English and Latin.

Looking across these three weeks for this series, it does occur to me that my tastes run to the quieter, and perhaps more solemn, Advent hymns, and this one is definitely solemn hymn, set in a minor key.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

This hymn is an Advent hymn, in that it is definitely anticipating and calling for Christ, rather than a Christmas hymn (which is more about the birth itself and what happened). It is derived from the O Antiphons from church tradition, which were historically sung during vespers over the last 7 days of Advent. Wikipedia’s article on the O Antiphons has a lot of interesting information on these. According to this article, the historical order for these is as shown below.

• December 17: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
• December 18: O Adonai (O Lord)
• December 19: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
• December 20: O Clavis David (O Key of David)
• December 21: O Oriens (O Dayspring)
• December 22: O Rex Gentium (O King of the nations)
• December 23: O Emmanuel (O With Us is God)

As with many such things, there is a hidden meaning (an acrostic) in the Latin versions of the O Antiphons. Take the first letter of each, starting with the last (Emmanuel, Rex, Orens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, and Sapentia). Put those letters together and you get the (Latin) words ero cras, meaning “Tomorrow, I will come”. The antiphons speak to us individually and collectively as reminders of Chris is coming and what that coming means.

Within the PC(USA), the O Antiphons are given in the Book of Common Worship to be used as litanies of praise during morning or evening prayer during Advent.

• Review the antiphons from the Wikipedia page and discuss meaning

Lyrics

• Latin

Veni, veni Emmanuel;
Captivum solve Israel,
Qui gemit in exilio,
Privatus Dei Filio.

Refrain:
Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel,
Nascetur pro te, Israel!

• English

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Refrain

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife, and discord cease,
And fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
Refrain

This version (from http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/o/c/o/ocomocom.htm has eight verses, though there are traditionally 7 antiphons. The 8th verse (which I’ve rewritten to match the wording in the PC(USA) hymnal is attributed to a 1916 translation by Henry Sloane Coffin[1].

• Discuss this hymn and what it means to people.

The presentation of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel I’ve selected for today is a new and somewhat different take on the piece, by Jill Tracy[2]. Her presentation is often dark and Goth. This particular presentation is from the 2012 album Silver Smoke, Star of Night (Shadow of Christmas)[3]. To me, there are some interesting angles here with the culture often associated with Goth and dark, but yet a song of home and anticipation. Ms. Tracy’s presentation seems to me to be consistent with both the message of hope and the that style of music. It is a reminder that being Christian does not require being like us.

• Play Jill Tracy version of this song. What are the thoughts about this presentation?

Something New

While the presentation of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is new, I also have two newer songs. One is more serious with a strong theme of hope, and the other is silly, but with some interesting commentary. The lyrics are below, and I invite you to read them and think about the messages of Christmas and Christianity. I found the first one particularly interesting and relevant given the discussions last week in class of the various tragedies we’ve seen recently. The first song is a message of hope and a reminder to us about outreach to those in need. And the second asks some questions both about the meaning of Christmas and the ways in which indigenous people have been treated.

Christmas Card, by Steven Curtis Chapman[4]

I think I passed you on the busy sidewalk last night
I think I caught the sadness in your eyes
While everybody sings their happy Christmas songs tonight
All you want to do is cry

Christmas lights and decorations everywhere you turn
But all you feel inside is dark and gray
There may be joy for all the world but is there any joy for you
Hold on, Love is looking for a way
Hold on, I believe it’s why love came

So I’m sending you this Christmas card
To let you know somebody loves you
And I’m singing you this little song
To let you know you’re not alone
And I’m thinking, as we celebrate, how Love came down
So every lost and lonely broken heart would get found
And wherever you are, I hope this Christmas card
Finds you and reminds you
You are loved

For every one who’s been left standing on the outside looking in
Every one with dreams that never will come true
When the story of your life gets re-written over night
Well, this is all part of the Christmas story, too
And I believe God knows and He’s right there with you

So I’m sending you this Christmas card
To let you know somebody loves you
And I’m singing you this little song
To let you know you’re not alone
And I’m thinking, as we celebrate, how Love came down
So every lost and lonely broken heart can be found
And wherever you are, I hope this Christmas card
Finds you and reminds you
You are not alone

You’re never forgotten
The God who made you came down to our world
To let us know wherever we are
He is with us
Our God is with us
And He really wants to let you know
Just how much He loves you

And I’m singing you this Christmas song
So you’ll know you’re not alone
And I’m thankful, as we celebrate, how Love came down
Now all the lost and lonely broken hearts can be found
And wherever you are, I hope this Christmas card
Finds you and reminds you
You are loved

Merry Christmas on Mars, by Ray Zimmerman[5]

Eenie Kaveenie Klibadavac
That’s how they say Merry Christmas on Mars
Eenie Kaveenie Klibadavac
To little Megada-vic and Hackanacanack and Lars

You could say Happy Hingana-bink
Or Jolly Jiggada-pinka-schnoo
Or simply Icken-Ikcen-Schmick-Schmick everyone!

But Eenie Kaveenie Klibadavac
Means Merry Christmas on the fourth rock from the sun

Try it with me now …

Eenie Kaveenie Klibadavac
That’s how they say Merry Christmas on Mars
Eenie Kaveenie Klibadavac
To little Pickada-mic and Schwowowowow and Lars

You could say Happy Hingana-bink
Or Jolly Jiggada-pinka-schnoo
Or simply Icken-Ikcien-Schmick-Schmick everyone!

But Eenie Kaveenie Klibadavac
Means Merry Christmas on the fourth rock from the sun

We landed on that planet - Don’t you remember?
And quickly overran it - Just last December
Demanding of the Martian population

Convert to Christianit-y
That can’t be too hard, can it?
Even Godless Unitarians want a week’s vacation

Their skin is green, their eyes are red
And so they all stood up and said …

Eenie Kaveenie Klibadavac
That’s how we say Merry Christmas on Mars
Eenie Kaveenie Klibadavac
Mostly ‘cause Martians cannot pronounce R’s

You might say Happy Hingana-bink
Or Jolly Jiggada-pinka-schnoo
Or simply Icken-Ikcen-Schmick-Schmick everyone!

But Eenie Kaveenie Klibadavac
Means Merry Christmas on the fourth rock from the sun

You might say Blessed Jook-Neeb (And also with you … )
Or here’s to Auld Lang (SFX)
Or simply Venganenga-Schmookanooka-Dink No–el … No–el …

But Eenie Kaveenie Klibadavac
Means Merry Christmas to a Martian infidel

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1. The Presbyterian Hymnal: Hymns, Psalms, and Spiritual Songs. Louisville, Ky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990.  ↩

2. See http://jilltracy.com/jt/about-jill-tracy/ for a bio of the singer, which quotes the San Francisco Chronicle describing her as “femme fatale for the thinking man”.  ↩

3. http://jilltracy.bandcamp.com/album/silver-smoke-star-of-night or https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/silver-smoke-star-night-in/id561560009  ↩

4. Christmas Card, Track 8 from Joy by Steven Curtis Chapman (2012) http://stevencurtischapman.com/store/music or https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/joy/id565659610  ↩

5. Christmas on Mars, Track 14 from Real American by Roy Zimmerman (2010) http://www.royzimmerman.com/store.php or https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/real-american/id375680307  ↩

Christmas Something Old, Something New, Part II

Introduction

For the second installment of Something Old, Something New for Christmas, I’ve gone with the very old Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming for the old, and Amy Grant’s Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song) for something new. The Grant piece just does make it on my 10-year cutoff for something new, as it came out in 1992 and the album was the Billboard #1 for Contemporary Christian during that Christmas season.

Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming

The original author of this piece is not known. The original “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” is German and first appears in print in the late 16th century[1]. The translation we often use in our repertory is from Theodore Baker in 1894, and the most common arrangements are at least based on the published work of Michael Praetorius in 1609. Note that the original has 23 verses, but we’re only looking at the first two (though I’ve included the third version from Baker’s version below).

This song is rich with biblical references. See Song of Soloman 2:1, Isaiah 11:1. Note that there is some room for discussion of the meaning here, as the original word translated as “rose” can be read as “Ros’” (rose) or “Reis” (branch) in the olest manuscripts. Particularly with the references to Isaiah and Jesse’s lineage (A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. Isa 11:1 NIV)[2].

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.

O Flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispel with glorious splendour
The darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God,
From Sin and death now save us,
And share our every load.

A somewhat different translation was used in the 1970 film Love Story.

Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)

This song is the fourth track on Amy Grant’s 1992 Christmas Album Home for Christmas[3]. Songfacts has some interesting takes on this piece[4]:

This Christmas song tells the nativity story from Mary’s perspective. It portrays the mother of Jesus as a frightened young girl, attempting to deal with the circumstances of giving birth to the Holy Father’s Son. Despite her human doubts, Mary’s faith in the goodness and mercy of God remain and help her deal with the unique situation she finds herself in. English songwriter Chris Eaton originally penned this song, with the title “Breath of Heaven.” When Grant first heard it, she decided she wanted to record the tune for her holiday album, but with the verses rewritten to personalize them. She explained in CCM Magazine presents 100 Greatest Songs In Christian Music: “That song is so profound, but the chorus is so simple. It’s authentic and perfectly written, because it uses an incredibly moving economy of words. And, selfishly, I just really wanted to be able to use the song on my Christmas record. So finally Chris said, ‘Well, OK, just for this one version, we’ll let you put a different lyric on there.’ I said, ‘Well, you couldn’t possibly have written the lyric I’m thinking of, because I’m going to write it from a woman’s perspective.’ I was very pregnant at the time, and I felt that was part of the inspiration for song as I tried to imagine Mary’s experience. We went into the recording studio with Brown Bannister producing and Shane Keister playing the piano and basically got it within one take.”

Amy Grant wrote a book titled Breath of Heaven in 2001 based on this song. She wrote in the release of the book that she considers the intimate nature of this tune has transformed it into a prayer. She explained: “It is a prayer that fits a lot of people’’ circumstances, because it is a cry of mercy. Some nights on stage I can hardly get through the song for knowing all of the collective, unspoken pain of the lives in front of me. And so the words become my prayer for the listener and the reader, as well as the singer.”

This song appears on the soundtrack of the 2006 movie The Nativity Story. Mike Rich, who penned its screenplay, told Catholic Online, that he began each day of writing for the film by listening to this song.

I have traveled many moonless nights
Cold and weary with a babe inside
And I wonder what I've done
Holy Father You have come
And chosen me now to carry your son

I am waiting in a silent prayer
I am frightened by the load I bear
In a world as cold as stone
Must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now
Be with me now

Breath of Heaven
Hold me together
Be forever near me
Breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven
Lighten my darkness
Pour over me your holiness
For You are holy
Breath of Heaven

Do You wonder as You watch my face
If a wiser one should have had my place
But I offer all I am
For the mercy of your plan
Help me be strong
Help me be
Help me

Breath of Heaven
Hold me together
Be forever near me
Breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven
Lighten my darkness
Pour over me Your holiness
For You are holy

Breath of Heaven
Hold me together
Be forever near me
Breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven
Lighten my darkness
Pour over me Your holiness
For You are holy
Breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven

Billboard #1 for Contemporary Christian 12/26/1992 - 2/16/1993

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1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Es_ist_ein_Ros_entsprungen  ↩

2. http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Notes_On_Carols/lo_how_a_rose_eer_blooming.htm  ↩

3. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/home-for-christmas/id261434676  ↩

4. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=14730 Song Facts  ↩

A quick mid-week link to Guideposts story

E passed along her copy of a recent Guideposts (December 2012), with an interesting article on some places where beloved Christmas carols were inspired.  See http://www.guideposts.org/stories-of-faith/where-christmas-music-lived to read the article on-line. 

Something Old, Something New for Christmas, Part 1

Introduction

• Welcome music: Faith Hill version of What Child is This?[1]

For the next three sessions, I want to do a Something Old, Something New series around Christmas music. Old and new can be relative terms, but I’m aiming for things 19th century and older, while I’m thinking last 10 years for something new.

Today’s older piece is What Child is This? and the newer piece is A Baby Changes Everything. In this case, both pieces are on Faith Hill’s 2008 Christmas album Joy to the World[2], and we’ll listen to both those, as well as a very traditional presentation of What Child is This? by John Denver.

We’ll talk about these two pieces and look at how they express the wonder (and challenge) around the birth of Jesus, and think about how this affects our lives. I think it’s fair to say that the birth of Christ is a matter of wonder and challenge for us today, though not in the same way that it was for Mary personally.

What Child is This?

That’s a really important question. “What child is this?”, indeed.

Melody

The oldest part of the song What Child is This? is the melody – Greensleeves[3] (8.7.8.7 with refrain) – which is a traditional English tune known to be at least as old as 1580. The urband legend is that King Henry VIII (1491–1547) composed this for his (then) consort Anne Boleyn, but this is highly unlikely. There is some thought that the piece is more likely from the time of Elizabeth I, given similarity to some other music of the time. The piece did gain popularity quickly, though, as it is referenced in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, particularly Falstaff’s comment “Let the sky rain potatoes! Let it thunder to the tune of ‘Greensleeves’!”.

The original song describes a woman’s rejection of the singer’s advances. There is a possibility that the woman under discussion is promiscuous, as the color green had some sexual connotations at that time, particularly in the context of a “green gown” – suggesting the color it would get after a romp in the grass. That raises some interesting irony, given the use of the tune for this very traditional hymn.

Greensleeves is traditionally done in the key of E minor, which is a very natural key signature for guitar (and the lute of the late 16th century). It’s interesting that Robert Morgan asserts that E minor is the “saddest of all keys” in his write up on Greensleeves[4], while an internet search for “the saddest of all keys” turns up primarily references to work by Spinal Tap about a piece in D minor, which they assert is the saddest of all keys.

Regardless, any minor key is “sad”, and the use of this ballad, lamenting the rejection of the singer by a woman is an interesting juxtoposition with the words we use today in What Child is This?.

Lyrics

The lyrics were written in 1865 by William Chatterton Dix (1837–1898), as part of a longer poem, while he was recovering from a near-death illness. Dix was an insurance agent whose father was a surgeon, but Dix wasn’t interested in following that path. He was more of a poet and writer, who sold insurance as a means to put bread on the table. Dix also composed As with Gladness Men of Old (PCUSA blue hymnal #63), Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (PCUSA blue hymnal #144), and To You, O Lord, Our Hearts We Raise (less well-known and not in our hymnal).

Taking a look at the lyrics (from Wikipedia[5]), it’s interesting to me that a more original version of this song has parts I’ve never heard before (and which aren’t in our hymnal. As written by Dix, there are three verses, with no chorus. More modern versions (including all of the hymnals I checked) take the second half of the first verse and use it as the chorus (6.8.6.7). Given the differences in meter, this is perhaps more in keeping with the original tune, but some of the words that we don’t sing are pretty powerful and worth reading.

What child is this, who, lays to rest,
On Mary’s lap is sleeping,
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring Him laud [praise],
The babe, the son of Mary!

Why lies He in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
[or repeat last half of 1st verse]
Nails, spear shall pierce him through,
The Cross be borne for me, for you;
Hail, hail the Word Made Flesh,
The babe, the son of Mary!

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh;
Come, peasant, king, to own Him!
The King of Kings salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone Him!
[or repeat last half of 1st verse]
Raise, raise the song on high!
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy! joy! for Christ is born,
The babe, the son of Mary!

• Read through lyrics to What Child is This?. What do you think of the song itself and of the lyrics we don’t normally sing? What messages does this bring through to you?

• Listen to John Denver version of What Child is This? I pick this as a much more traditional presentation of the song, with very light accompaniment, particularly in the first verse. What does this presentation provide for you in terms of message and emotions? Do the differences in presentation between Hill and Denver offer different aspects to this song for you?

A Baby Changes Everything

I don’t have as much history or background on Faith Hill’s A Baby Changes Everything[6], which hit the #1 spot on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart from 12/20/2008 - 1/3/2009 and also peaked at #36 on the Billboard Country Songs chart around that same time. The composers are listed as James Nichols, Craig Wiseman, and Kim Wiseman. There aren’t any particular stories or histories that I’ve found about this piece, but it’s an interesting presentation of an aspect of the Christmas story.

• Read through lyrics for A Baby Changes Everything What messages do we get? Listen to the Faith Hill presentation of this. What thoughts do you have about her presentation of the lyrics?

Teenage girl, much too young
Unprepared for what’s to come
A baby changes everything

Not a ring on her hand
All her dreams and all her plans
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

The man she loves she’s never touched
How will she keep his trust?
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

And she cries!
Ooh, she cries
Ooh, oh

She has to leave, go far away
Heaven knows she can’t stay
A baby changes everything

She can feel it’s coming soon
There’s no place, there’s no room
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

And she cries!
And she cries!
Oh, she cries

Shepherds all gather ’round
Up above the star shines down
A baby changes everything

Choir of angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything
Everything, everything, everything

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

My whole life has turned around
I was lost but now I’m found
A baby changes everything, yeah
A baby changes everything

I picked two songs, partially because they were in the same collection from a particular artist, and they both focussed on the baby, asking the question of what this child means to each of us. What do you see? What does this child mean for you this Christmas season?

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1. What Child is This?, track 2 from Joy to the World (2008) by Faith Hill. Available on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/joy-to-the-world/id291423330  ↩

2. The artist’s site is http://www.faithhill.com. This particular album isn’t specifically mentioned on her site, but it is available through the normal channels, and there is a brief Wikipedia article available.  ↩

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensleeves  ↩

4. Then Sings My Soul, Volume 2, Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers: 2003, ISBN 0–7852–4939–7. http://www.robertjmorgan.com/bookstore/hymn-stories/then-sings-my-soul/. What Child is This? is on page 102. Note: The name for this class is an independent inspiration from the same basic source. There is no direct connection between this class and Dr. Morgan, apart, I presume, from a similar love of Christ and music.  ↩

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Child_Is_This%3F  ↩

6. A Baby Changes Everything, track 11 from Joy to the World (2008) by Faith Hill. Available on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/joy-to-the-world/id291423330  ↩