December 18

Hark, the Glad Sound! The Savior Comes... written by Philip Doddridge (1702-1751), wins the prize for difficulty in finding a good rendition - here are two of the best. 

A nice choral presentation by a Slovakian choir

A beautiful trumpet version accompanied by strange pictures.


1 Hark, the glad sound! The Savior comes, 
the Savior promised long! 
Let ev'ry heart prepare a throne, 
and ev'ry voice a song.

2 He comes the pris'ners to release, 
in Satan’s bondage held; 
the gates of brass before Him burst, 
the iron fetters yield.

3 He comes the broken heart to bind, 
the bleeding soul to cure, 
and with the treasures of His grace 
t'enrich the humbled poor.

4 Our glad Hosannas, Prince of Peace, 
Thy welcome shall proclaim;
and heav'n’s eternal arches ring 
with Thy beloved Name.

December 17

At the end of the Meet the Nativity videos a booklet - Four Kinds of Christmas - is mentioned. Here is the video.

December 16

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus... was written in 1744 by Charles Wesley and is sung to a number of tunes, though known best by either Stuttgard or Hyfrydol. The original text was two stanzas of eight lines, but may be divided into four stanzas of four lines each


1. Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

2. Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come,_Thou_Long_Expected_Jesus)

December 15

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People... written by Johann Olearius a German hymnwriter, preacher, and academic at the University of Wittenberg in the mid-1600s. The text for Tröstet, Tröstet meine Lieben is based on Isaiah 40:1-5, later translated from German to English by Katherine Winkworth.

Here is a choral performance...

1 Comfort, comfort ye My people,
speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
comfort those who sit in darkness,
mourning 'neath their sorrows' load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
of the peace that waits for them!
Tell her that her sins I cover
and her warfare now is over.

2 Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
blotting out each dark misdeed;
all that well deserved His anger
He no more will see nor heed.
She hath suffered many a day,
now her griefs have passed away;
God will change her pining sadness
into ever-springing gladness.

3 For Elijah's voice is crying
in the desert far and near,
bidding all men to repentance,
since the kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey,
now prepare for God a way;
let the valley rise to meet Him,
and the hills bow down to greet Him.

4 Make ye straight what long was crooked,
make the rougher places plain,
let your hearts be true and humble,
as befits His holy reign;
for the glory of the LORD
now o'er earth is shed abroad,
and all flesh shall see the token
that His Word is never broken.

https://hymnary.org/text/comfort_comfort_now_my_people

December 14

Meet the Nativity 
A time-travelling comedy where 21st and 1st century Christmases magically collide.

Part 3 of 4 - The Stepmother

December 13

Lo He Comes With Clouds Descending... Although usually sung as an Advent hymn, the content of the text and particularly the title are derived from Revelation chapter 1, verse 7, which tells of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The text has its origins in a hymn "Lo! He cometh, countless Trumpets" by John Cennick published in his Col­lect­ion of Sac­red Hymns of 1752. This was substantially revised by Charles Wesley for publication in Hymns of intercession for all mankind of 1758. Some hymnals present a combination of the two texts. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo!_He_comes_with_clouds_descending)

Lichfield Cathedral Choir performs the piece.

1 Lo! He comes, with clouds descending,
once for our salvation slain;
thousand thousand saints attending
swell the triumph of His train.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
God appears on earth to reign.

2 Ev'ry eye shall now behold Him,
robed in dreadful majesty;
those who set at naught and sold Him,
pierced, and nailed Him to the tree,
deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
shall the true Messiah see.

3 Every island, sea, and mountain,
heav'n and earth, shall flee away;
all who hate Him must, confounded,
hear the trump proclaim the day:
Come to judgment! Come to judgment!
Come to judgment, come away!

4 Now redemption, long expected,
see in solemn pomp appear!
And His saints, by men rejected,
coming with Him in the air.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
See the day of God appear!

5 Yea, amen! Let all adore Thee,
high on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the pow'r and glory,
claim the kingdom for Thine own:
O come quickly, O come quickly,
Alleluia! Come, Lord, come!

https://hymnary.org/text/lo_he_comes_with_clouds_descending_once

December 12

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming) is a Christmas carol and Marian Hymn of German origin. It is most commonly translated into English as Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming. The author is anonymous, but it first appeared in print in 1599 and has since been published with a varying number of verses and in several different translations (some favoring a Catholic view, others Protestant, and even bent to Nazi use). It is most commonly sung to a melody harmonized by German composer Michael Praetorius in 1609. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Es_ist_ein_Ros_entsprungen) 

The beautiful hymn has an edge of tension and melancholy - our Christmas celebrations inevitably lead to Easter. Just as, in the prophecies from Isaiah, a “rose,” or stem, shoots up from the stump, so too do we celebrate Christ’s birth in the knowledge that He brings life out of death - and his death brings us a new kind of life. The season of Advent points us not only to Christmas, but to the second coming of Christ, when He will finally makes all things new. The tiny babe whose birth we  celebrate, our “Rose,” is come to “dispel…the darkness everywhere.” (https://hymnary.org/text/lo_how_a_rose_eer_blooming)

Here is a beautiful choral rendition. 

1 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 flower bright,
Amid the cold of winter
When half-gone was the night.

2 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-gone was the night.

3 This Flower, 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.

This is the translation by Theodore Baker (b. New York, NY, 1851; d. Dresden, Germany, 1934). Baker studied music in Leipzig, Germany, and wrote a dissertation on the music of the Seneca people of New York State–one of the first studies of the music of American Indians. From 1892 until his retirement in 1926, Baker was a literary editor and translator for G. Schirmer, Inc., in New York City and then returned to Germany. (https://hymnary.org/text/lo_how_a_rose_eer_blooming)