Blog Caroling 2011: I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day

One of my favorite groups this Christmas season is Casting Crowns which offers a unique arrangement of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day with lyrics composed by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The story of Longfellow's poem Christmas Bells can be found here.



I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

© 2011, copyright Thomas MacEntee

O Holy Night

[Editor's Note: This is my entry for this year's Blog Caroling over at Footnote Maven's blog.]

Although the song O Holy Night is incredibly beautiful, very often I think it is either overplayed during the holiday season or it is just butchered in its rendition, even by well-known vocalists. I appreciate it when someone, like Angelique Kidjo, can take a song like O Holy Night and offer up a unique arrangement. Enjoy!

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Advent Calendar - Please Don't Play That Christmas Album Again!

[Note: This post originally ran during the first Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories in December, 2007]

As I grew up, it seemed there was only one Christmas album available not only in our home but in the world. My mother would play it incessantly - to the point of frustrating and angering me and my brother.

The album was A Christmas Sound Spectacular by John Klein and was released in 1959. Klein had done much of the arranging for the Your Hit Parade shows and this album, when released, was (and still is) one of a kind. Mom would bring out the album, with its tattered cover and some scratches, place it on the Victrola and we'd begin decorating the Christmas tree. And since it was a four hour ordeal (due to the rule of placing each strand of tinsel individually on the tree), we heard the album at least six times.

When I cleaned out Mom's house this past year, I could not find the album for the life of me, and as much as I detested it, I really wanted to hear it one more time. So I resolved to find a digital version if possible. When I did find it (see below), boy did it bring back memories. And I called Mom, and despite her advanced Alzheimer's, she can recall every little detail if it is at least pre-1995. So she said "Oh, you have 'the album' on. You must be decorating the tree. I'll have to stop by to see it."

So I play my favorite track Medley: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day/Carol Of The Bells and now wonder why I hated these songs so much. I knew if back then Mom had said "You just wait - you'll be older and you'll miss these songs," now she could rightfully say, "See? What did I tell you?"

You can download a preview of A Christmas Sound Spectacular at a neat Christmas music blog called Bongobells. But since the album was reissued in CD format in 2002 and is no longer "out of print," you really should order a copy of this great album for a modest $8.00 at Schulmerich Bells. In fact, John Klein performed all the songs on the 1,143 bell carillon of Schulmerich bells where they are based in Sellersville, Pennsylvania.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Blog Caroling - In The Bleak Midwinter

Footnote maven has caught the holiday spirit and is making certain it is spread.  Again this year she is holding her Blog Caroling festival and has invited all genea-bloggers to participate by listing their favorite Christmas carol.

If I were forced to choose, I'd have to say In The Bleak Midwinter which might sound like a right dreary choice but stick around, give a listen and read more about this wonderful song.

The words below were written by Christina Rossetti sometime before 1872 but the song did not become popular until after the turn of the century when the words were set to music by Gustav Holst.

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen,
Snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign;
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God incarnate,
Jesus Christ.

Worship night and day
A breast full of milk
And a manger full of hay.
Enough for him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
which adore.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But his mother only,
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what can I give Him —
Give my heart.

I have several versions of In The Bleak Midwinter among the 1,690 holiday songs in my iTunes. My favorite is by the a capella group Chanticleer:

It Is Well With My Soul: A Family History In Song And Images

I don't often delve into certain topics on this blog, having been reared with the admonition not to discuss religion or politics with strangers. But even without looking at the story of Horatio Spafford through the lens of religion, one must be struck in amazement at how a man beset with such troubles and hardships could live a life being better, not bitter.

My genea-blogging colleague Terry Thornton at Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississipi has already gone into much detail about Spafford and how the death of his son, the Great Chicago Fire and the shipwreck which took his four remaining daughters inspired, if that is the appropriate word, the lyrics to the hymn It Is Well With My Soul.

I never heard this song growing up since it wasn't part of the musical liturgy at the Catholic church I attended. It wasn't until I was exploring various Protestant denominations while in my 20's that I came to learn and love this hymn, especially the first verse.

Imagine my surprise when I came across a music video of The Innocence Mission's version of It Is Well With My Soul which was produced by Bluefish TV. Not only does it convey the story of Spafford's life but it is such a well produced piece of family history condensed in a less-than three minute video. If I could only condense the stories of my family and ancestors in such a beautifully produced format!

I place this video right up there with John Catching's version of the hymn and look at it when I know I need to be better, and not bitter.

Look What They've Done To My Song . . .

Well more like "Look What They've Done To My Music . . ." There is a budding meme starting by Tim Abbott over at Walking The Berkshires: What were the 10 most influential albums of your teenage years? What about your college years?

Jasia over at Creative Gene has also picked up on this and has a great post as well. I bet in a few hours it will be posted over at the Events section of the Genea-Bloggers group on Facebook so everyone can join in if they want.

I thought I'd give this meme a go, especially since I have been playing some of the music from my teen and college years lately. First, let me say that contrary to what you may have heard, my music was not played on wax cylinders or 78 rpm records. I may feel that old some days but I actually had 33 and 45 rpm vinyl, 8-track tapes, and casettes. It was not until college in the 1980s that I went exclusively to CDs.

The music I grew up with was varied - I mean the music my mother would play. It was country mostly and lots of Neil Diamond. And when I say country music, I mean the good old stuff like Tammy Wynette singing "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" or Loretta Lynn singing "You Aint' Woman Enough To Take My Man."

As my musical tastes developed during my teen and college years, I ventured into a very ecclectic group of albums:

Meatloaf: Bat Out Of Hell

Cheap Trick: At Budokan

Blondie: Parallel Lines

The B-52s: The B-52s

The Ramones: Rocket To Russia

The Housemartins: The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death

The Jam: The Sound of The Jam

The Pet Shop Boys: Please

Squeeze: Sweets From A Stranger

Elvis Costello: My Aim Is True

So there's my Top 10 - almost all New Wave and late 1970's/early 1980s. I think I was just born a little too late for the Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd stuff - in fact I just don't care for what I call "headbanger music" or "album-oriented rock."

But if you think I am all about the 80's, I'll need to fill you in on the rest of my 15,000 song iTunes collection on my external hard drive. That's for another post.