Welcome
everybody to this new entry of Montcada in English – Christmas Edition. As I
told you before, this is a very special month for me and my family, because of
the season. Music has been an important part of Christmas traditions all around
the world. Few things are able to express the spirit who involves the season as
music. Carols, pop songs, hymns and so on have been part of the traditions that
are related to this festivity.
Based
on what the German composer Ludwig von Beethoven once said - Music is ... A higher revelation than all
Wisdom & Philosophy - today I’d like to share my top 10 list of favorite
Christmas’ songs, maybe not to provide wisdom or philosophy but to help you to
feel the amazing spirit of the holidays. I have divided the post in two parts.
I hope you enjoy part 2.
My
Top 10 favorite Christmas’ songs (5 – 1)
5. O
Holy Night
O Holy Night (Cantique de Noël in
French) is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the
French poem "Minuit, chrétiens"
(Midnight, Christians) by a wine merchant and poet, Placide Cappeau
(1808–1877).
In
Roquemaure at the end of the year 1843, the church organ was recently
renovated. To celebrate the event, the parish priest asked Cappeau, native from
this town, to write a Christmas poem. Cappeau did it, although being a
professed anticlerical and atheist.
Soon
after, Adam wrote the music. The song was premiered in Roquemaure in 1847 by
the opera singer Emily Laurey.
Unitarian
minister John Sullivan Dwight, editor of Dwight's Journal of Music, created a
singing edition based on Cappeau's French text in 1855. In both the French
original and in the two familiar English versions of the carol, the text
reflects on the birth of Jesus and of humanity's redemption.
The
song has also been recorded through the years by many notable singers including
Anita Bryant, Mariah Carey, Cher, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Céline Dion, Josh
Groban, Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, Hanson, Mahalia Jackson, The Lettermen,
TVXQ and Andy Williams.
As a
curiosity, on December 24, 1906, Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian inventor,
broadcast the first AM radio program, which started with a phonograph record of
Handel's aria "Ombra mai fu" followed by Fessenden playing "O
Holy Night" on the violin and singing the final verse. As such, the carol
was the second piece of music to be broadcast on radio.
4. The
Little Drummer Boy
The Little Drummer Boy is
a popular Christmas song written by the American classical music composer and
teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. It was recorded in 1955 by the Trapp
Family Singers and further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone
Chorale. This version was re-released successfully for several years and the
song has been recorded many times since.
In
the lyrics the singer relates how, as a poor young boy, he was summoned by the
Magi to the nativity where, without a gift for the infant Jesus, he played his
drum with the Virgin Mary's approval, remembering "I played my best for Him" and "He smiled at me."
The
song was originally titled "Carol of
the Drum" and was published by Davis as based upon a traditional Czech
carol. Davis' interest was in producing material for amateur and girls' choirs:
her manuscript is set as a chorale, the tune in the soprano with alto harmony,
tenor and bass parts producing the drum rhythm and a keyboard accompaniment
"for rehearsal only".
Throughout
history, The Little Drummer Boy has been sung or versioned by hundreds of
famous artists such as Ray Conniff, Bing Crosby, Johnny Cash, The Supremes,
Joan Baez, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Hendrix, The Jackson 5, Joan Jett, Bob Seger,
Josep Carreras, Al Bano, Romina Power, Kenny G, Apocalyptica, New Kids on the
Block, Alicia Keys, Chicago, Whitney Houston, Destiny’s Child, Westlife,
Jessica Simpson, Boyz II Men, Faith Hill, Josh Groban, Bob Dylan, Mariah Carey
and many more.
3. Joy
to the World
Joy to the World is
a popular Christmas song, whose words were written by the English writer Isaac
Watts, based on the second half of Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first
published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the
language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship.
Watts wrote the words of Joy to the World as a hymn glorifying Christ's
triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than a song celebrating his
first coming. The nations are called to celebrate because God's faithfulness to
the house of Israel has brought salvation to the world.
The
music was adapted and arranged to Watts' lyrics by Lowell Mason in 1839 from an
older melody which was then believed to have originated from Handel, not least
because the theme of the refrain (And heaven and nature sing...) appears in the
orchestra opening and accompaniment of the recitative Comfort ye from Handel's
Messiah, and the first four notes match the beginning of the choruses Lift up
your heads and Glory to God from the same oratorio. However, Handel did not
compose the entire tune.
 |
| The Irish band Celtic Women performing Joy to the World |
As
of the late 20th century, Joy to the World was the most-published Christmas
hymn in North America.
Among
the recordings well known in their day is an instrumental version of Joy to the
World by conductor Percy Faith. First recorded in 1954 on his Music of
Christmas LP (Columbia CL 588), it was re-recorded in stereo in 1959 as
Columbia 8176. Many of the greatest artists of the 20th century have
recorded wonderful versions, such as the popular European group Boney M, John
Rutter (who arranged the carol in the style of Handel and recorded this
arrangement twice with the Cambridge Singers, St. Paul's Cathedral and King's
College), The Supremes, Andy Williams, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Patty
Loveless & Jon Randall, Clay Aiken, Faith Hill, Natalie Cole, the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir and so on.
2. Angels
We Have Heard on High
Angels We Have Heard on High is
a Christmas carol of French origin in the public domain. The song commemorates
the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which
shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and
praising the newborn child.
The
words of the song are based on a traditional French carol known as Les Anges dans nos campagnes (literally,
"Angels in our countryside") composed by an unknown author in
Languedoc, France. That song has received many adjustments or alignments
including its most common English version that was translated in 1862 by James
Chadwick, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, northeast England.
The carol quickly became popular in the West Country, where it was described as
'Cornish' by R.R. Chope, and featured in Pickard-Cambridge's Collection of
Dorset Carols.
 |
| A Choir singing dressed up as Angels |
As
every single popular Christmas song, this one has been performed by important
artists all over the world, like The Carpenters, Christina Aguilera, Josh Groban,
Brian McKnight, David Archuleta, Andrea Bocelli, Micheal Castaldo, Pentatonix, The
Piano Guys, etc.
MEMORABLE
MENTIONS
*
Handel´s Hallellujah Chorus (from the Messiah)
The Hallelujah Chorus, from George Friedrich
Handel's Messiah, is such an iconic piece of music (and is so ingrained as a
Christmas tradition) that it is easy to take its exuberance and its greatness
for granted.
The
composer-conductor Rob Kapilow once said: “Much
of the power of the piece lies behind the rhythm of the word hallelujah… What
makes Handel great, is that first
note is lengthened and then we explode at the end. We have this HAAAA-le-lu-jah."
 |
| The Mormon Tabernacle Choir |
In
any case, few songs have been able to capture the essence of the messianic
message as this wonderful piece of art. Although the Hallellujah Chorus is
really popular during the Christmas season, I have not included it in my top
ten due to the fact that even though it is a piece that speaks about the main
character of which is based Christmas, is not exactly a Christmas song.
In
addition, without being religious, it is clear that the Messiah is culturally a
reference for everyone.
*
Joseph (Michael McLean / The Forgotten Carols)
The
less popular of all the songs I have posted in this entry, this Michael McLean’s
song whose purpose is to explain the divinity of Jesus Christ from the
perspective of his adoptive father, Joseph, has touched my heart many years
ago.
Nearly
twenty-five years ago, Michael McLean created a Christmas performance that
became an instant classic. It started simply. Michael was seated at his piano
when he wondered: “What if I met the
innkeeper who turned away Joseph and Mary?” And from that one thought, a
new Christmas tradition was born—a tradition that would touch the hearts of
countless people through original music and the stories of “forgotten”
characters of the Nativity story.
 |
| Jesus and Joseph |
The
Forgotten Carols shares the warmth of the Christmas spirit through a stage
performance. The show tells the story of a nurse whose empty life is changed
when a new patient recounts the story of Christ’s birth as told by little known
characters in the nativity story. The accounts from the Innkeeper, the shepherd
and others help the nurse discover what the world has forgotten about
Christmas, and open her heart to the joy of this special season.
1.
Silent Night
Without
any doubts in my heart or my mind, Silent Night is the number one on my list.
It has to be mentioned that this was the all-time favorite Christmas song of my
Grandmother, to whom I will be grateful my whole life for all the beautiful
Christmas traditions she taught me across my journey.
Originally
named Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) is one of the most popular
Christmas carols ever, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph
Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an
intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song has been recorded by a
large number of singers from every music genre. The version sung by Bing Crosby
is the third best-selling single of all-time.
The
song was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in
Oberndorf, a village in the Austrian Empire on the Salzach river in present-day
Austria. A young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year
before. He had already written the lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht"
in 1816 at Mariapfarr, the hometown of his father in the Salzburg Lungau
region, where Joseph had worked as a coadjutor.
The
melody was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, schoolmaster and organist in the
nearby village of Arnsdorf. Before Christmas Eve, Mohr brought the words to
Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the
church service. Both performed the carol during the mass on the night of
December 24. The carol has been translated into about 140 languages.]
The
song was sung simultaneously in English and German by troops during the
Christmas truce of 1914 during World War I, as it was one carol that soldiers
on both sides of the front line knew.
So, What
do you think of my list? If you think that I missed a song please leave a comment with the name of your favorite Christmas songs. Also, you can share this article if you like it. I hope as every single time, you guys have
enjoyed my post.
