Nat King Cole

The tenderness of Nat King Cole’s silky smooth performance on Oh Holy Night is one of the most beautiful renditions you will be fortunate enough to hear this time of year. I say fortunate, because the 1847 French original, Cantique de Noel, was uniformly denounced by the church leaders after discovering the composer Adolphe Adams was Jewish and the lyricist Placide Cappeau had walked away from the church to join the socialist movement.

The English version we sing today came from an American writer named John Sullivan Dwight. He had heard it in France, still being sung by the French people. Sullivan, a staunch abolitionist, strongly identified with the third verse (not included on the Nat King Cole version): “Truly he taught us to love one another; his law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother; and in his name all oppression shall cease.”

Each Christmas, I’m thankful to Mr. Sullivan; for bringing Nat King Cole such an opportunity.

Sources: Beliefnet + Nathan Anderson

Handel and Jennens

George Frideric Handel composed his famous Messiah oratorio somewhere between three and four weeks in 1741. “He would literally write from morning to night,” says Sarah Bardwell of the Handel House Museum in London. The oratorio’s text was completed by well-known librettist, Charles Jennens and planned for an Easter performance the following year. “I hope [Handel] will lay out his whole Genius & Skill upon it, that the Composition may excel all his former Compositions, as the Subject excels every other Subject,” Jennens had written to a friend.

Although originally intended for Easter, it eventually became a Christmas favorite, mainly because Easter music was more prevalent at the time and the first part of Messiah was almost entirely dedicated to the birth of Christ.

Even Mozart paid homage to Handel, after re-orchestrating Messiah in 1789. He insisted that any alterations to Handel's score should not be interpreted as an effort to improve the music. “Handel knows better than any of us what will make an effect,” Mozart said. “When he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt.”

Sources: Smithsonian Magazine + Jerusalem engraving by William Miller

Steve Earl

2020 has been an ongoing struggle for all of us. Maybe that's why, this Christmas I’ve been drawn to Steve Earl’s Nothing But A Child, off his Copperhead Road record. On this record, Steve blends his own free-flowing mix of gritty rock and bluegrass.

Steve’s Christmas song wasn’t written for Copperhead Road. It had originally been written for an Oak Ridge Boys record. Matter of fact, Steve credits his whole career to Oak Ridge Boys Publishing, as being the only folks in Nashville to hire him as a songwriter. Since the Oak Ridge Boys already had a wildly successful Christmas record in the 1980s, Steve was sure if he could get one of his songs on their new Christmas record, it would be financially beneficial for him and his family. Unfortunately, Steve's submission wasn’t selected. Fortunately, Steve was putting the finishing touches on Copperhead Road at the time and thought this Christmas song would make a good ending to his own record.

Critics and musicians alike raved about the first five songs on this record, while many considered the last five songs overly sentimental. According to one NY Times reviewer, the ending song on the record was little more than a ‘hokey’ Christmas song. Well, hokey or not, I've enjoyed hearing Steve's Christmas song this year and you may as well.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Sources: Steve Earl + Wikipedia + Wallpapers9

Isaac Watts’ Poem

While some wouldn't consider this popular hymn a true Christmas Carol because its’ stanzas refer more to the second coming of Jesus Christ than to his birth. Nonetheless, it has remained one of the most-published Christmas songs in North America. Isaac Watts based the text on Psalm 98, 96:11–12 and Genesis 3:17–18 with the lyric, “Let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare Him room,” encouraging the listener to receive Jesus Christ as both Savior and King.

Joy To The World was first published in 1719 in Watts’ collection of poems entitled, The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship. Intended as a paraphrase of his Christological understanding.

A century later a Boston music teacher named Lowell Mason discovered the poem and set it to music. Because he released this song at Christmas, it quickly became a holiday favorite.

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Sources: The Complete Book of Hymns + Wikipedia + CBN

Cantique de Noel

It all began, when Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure was asked to write a poem for Christmas mass by his parish priest. Honored to share his talents with the church, Placide Cappeau penned his “Cantique de Noel” while traveling to the capital city of France, in 1847.

Cappeau felt his poem would be better suited to music, so the poet sought help from one of his friends, Adolphe Charles Adams. Adams’ masterful talent and fame brought requests to write works for orchestras and ballets from all over the world. Their finished work was performed just three weeks later at a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

Initially accepted by many Catholic Christmas services, “Cantique de Noel” soon fell out of favor. It was banned in France for almost two decades after Placide Cappeau walked away from the church in favor of the socialist movement and church leaders discovered that Adolphe Adams was Jewish.

Fortunately, interest in this Christmas carol was renewed with John Sullivan Dwight — an American writer and Reginald Fessenden — a former chief chemist for Thomas Edison. Dwight introduced what he considered a wonderful Christmas song to America and Fessenden spoke into a microphone for the first time in history by reading the ‘Birth of Christ’ from the gospel of Luke, on Christmas Eve 1906. After finishing his reading, Fessenden picked up his violin and played “O Holy Night,” which became, the first song ever sent through radio airwaves.

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Source: Beliefnet

Christina Rossetti

This evocative Christmas carol was originally written by Christina Rossetti as a Christmas poem for the American magazine, Scribner’s Monthly. In 1872, it was set to music by Gustav Holst for the 1906 edition of The English Hymnal.

While no one would believe there was actual snow at the birth of Jesus Christ in the Middle Eastern town of Bethlehem, Rossetti uses the poetic imagery of ‘snow on snow’ to symbolize the ‘hard like iron’ hearts of humanity into which our Savior was born, long ago. She goes on to describe how a breastful of milk and a simple manger full of hay were enough for Him, whom the Angels and Archangels fall down before in worship.

I've always been captivated by the sublime beauty within her poem, but it's the very last stanza where my connection and understanding is strongest:

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 I can I give Him, —
Give my heart.

Titus 3:3–7

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Sources: The Complete Book of Hymns + Wikipedia + FreePik Snowflakes + Photo by Aaron Burden