I am of two minds this morning (that is, of the minds that are focusing on this and not my ordination tomorrow):

The first mind is so glad this traditional English* hymn is in our hymnal, lyrics unabridged. It’s familiar, it’s fun to sing the chorus, and it has a wonderful focus on the first witnesses to this miracle – the shepherds and the magi. It’s a great “this is how important this birth is – angels talking to shepherds, wise guys… er…wise men traveling from the east – this doesn’t happen every day, yanno. A good, solid, Christmas carol.

The second mind is really glad we only have three verses of it in our hymnal, even if it cuts the magi story a bit short. Because good lord, it’s a fairly dull verse, musically, and after a while the chorus goes from joyful sacred singing to rowdy drinking song.

Here are the first three verses, which are in our hymnal:

The first Nowell the angel did say was to certain poor shepherds, in fields as they lay,
in fields where they lay keeping their sheep, on a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

(Chorus)
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell,
born is the king of Israel.

They looked up and saw a star, shining in the east beyond them far,
and to the earth it gave great light, and so it continued both day and night.

(Chorus)

And by the light of that same star, three magi came from country far;
to seek a king was their intent, and to follow the star wherever it went.

(Chorus)

For completeness’ sake, here are the next three:

This star drew nigh to the north-west; O’er Bethlehem it took its rest;
And there it did both stop and stay  Right over the place where Jesus lay:

(chorus)

Then entered in those Wise Men three, Full reverently upon their knee,
And offered there in his presence,  Their gold and myrrh and frankincense:

(chorus)

Then let us all with one accord Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made heaven and earth of nought,  And with his blood mankind hath bought:

Yep. Glad we left it short.

*While it’s thought that this is a translation from the French, the carol’s origins are in Cornwall, in England – “Nowell” is an Early Modern English word for “Christmas” – probably a remnant from the Norman Invasion.  (The image is of St Ives, in Cornwall.)

Regular readers will note that I was excited that this was the title I’d be singing on the day of my ordination. However, I forgot to adjust the spreadsheet for Light of Ages and of Nations and Amazing Grace – two hymns that have identical words but different melodies or arrangements so were covered on the same day. Whoops. Saturday’s hymn is just fine, but not quite the synchronistic moment I thought I was having.

But still, here we go!

O Sanctissima! A carol I barely know and have absolutely no connection to.

Yeah, I know.

Look. We all grew up listening to particular albums full of Christmas music. Our heavy rotation included Nat King Cole, the Boston Pops, Sandler & Young, Ed Ames, Burl Ives, John Denver and the Muppets, and several of the Firestone Christmas albums – particularly Julie Andrews. Oh, and Allan Sherman – because even though there weren’t any Christmas songs, we always needed a break and Sherman’s parodies are a perennial family favorite. But in that rotation, O Sanctissima never showed up, and I don’t remember ever hearing it in church.

So… I don’t really know it, and I never choose it.

It is, on the other hand, actually a joyful Christmas song, unlike the all too often sung Joy to the World, which is actually about the second coming. We’ll talk more about Joy to the World next Saturday – but if you want a joyful song to celebrate the birth of Jesus, here you go:

O thou joyful day, O thou blessed day, gladsome, peaceful Christmas-tide. Earth’s hope awaken, Love life has taken. Joy, O, joy to all at Christmas-tide.
O sanctissima, O sanctissima, gladsome, peaceful Christmas-tide. Light now is beaming, our souls redeeming. Joy, O, joy to all at Christmas-tide.

Happy, joyful, gladsome, Latin. A good song for this gloomy, rainy, too full of hard news day.

We could use a little joy.

O Sanctissima.

This is not the first drinking song to appear in our hymnal. And I’ll wager it won’t be the last. But it may be the most familiar, even if the drinking words were changed.

You see, this is an old Welsh song that was originally sung to bring in the New Year:

The best pleasure on new year’s eve,
Is house and fire and a pleasant family,
A pure heart and brown ale,
A gentle song and the voice of the harp

And before we donned our gay apparel, we would “Fill the meadcup, drain the barrel.” There are also lines about seeing “the flowing bowl before us” and “laughing, quaffing all together.”

The version below, the one many of us probably know best, first appeared in 1862 and were written by Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant. These lyrics celebrate the coming of the season without speaking explicitly about the theological meanings, making it actually a joyful song to sing in Advent, as we prepare for Christmas Day:

Deck the hall with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la.
‘Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la.
Don we now our gay apparel, fa la la la la la, la la la.
Troll the ancient Yuletide carol, fa la la la la, la la la la.

See the blazing Yule before us, fa la la la la, la la la la.
Strike the harp and join the chorus, fa la la la la, la la la la.
Follow me in merry measure, fa la la la la la, la la la.
While I tell of Yuletide treasure, fa la la la la, la la la la.

Fast away the old year passes, fa la la la la, la la la la.
Hail the new, ye lads and lasses, fa la la la la, la la la la.
Sing we joyous all together, fa la la la la la, la la la.
Heedless of the wind and weather, fa la la la la, la la la la.

One more language note, about “troll” – this is what the Online Etymology Dictionary has to say:

late 14c., “to go about, stroll,” later (early 15c.) “roll from side to side, trundle,” probably from Old French troller, a hunting term, “wander, to go in quest of game without purpose” (Modern French trôler), from a Germanic source (compare Old High German trollen “to walk with short steps”), from Proto-Germanic *truzlanan.

Sense of “sing in a full, rolling voice” (first attested 1570s) and that of “fish with a moving line” (c. 1600) both are extended technical uses from the general sense of “roll, trundle,” the former from “sing in the manner of a catch or round,” the latter perhaps confused with trail or trawl.

So there you have it; we will sing the Yuletide carol in a full, rolling voice… like you would if you were drunk and singing drinking songs.

I rather love the inclusion of this in here – I wasn’t sure at first, but knowing its roots and the joyfulness with which we all still sing it today, its a perfect secular nod to the holy day.

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

 

It’s a day of interesting pairs…

First pair: this is the second time the tune Hasidim has been paired with words by Carl Seaburg.

Second pair: this is frankly an interesting pair, putting a Christmas lyric to a Hasidic tune – which happened in When the Daffodils Arrive too. I’m not entirely certain the Hasidic Jews from Europe would be open to the theological implications… but in some ways it works perfectly. Melodically, it has a touch of celebration and a touch of mystery – which our lyric also contains. Theologically, there’s something about a Jewish song celebrating a Jewish boy’s birth; and while we know this birth is different, the lyrics never proclaim the Messiah or Christ – simply a treasure of faith and a measure of love.

In the gentle of the moon, in the garnet of a star,
feel the presence of a hope where the crowding shepherds are.

Soon the apple tree will bud, and the crimson fruit will fall;
but within the stable shed there’s no thought of that at all.

Touch the treasure of a faith that the mythic Easterns hear.
See the measure of a love come candescent down the air.

Third pair: It’s one of those damn near-rhymes that gets me in singing every time. Look – near rhymes in read or spoken poetry is fine. But in sung poetry, near rhymes are almost more annoying than no rhyme at all. And I’m sorry – while “hear” and “air” are perfectly fine near rhymes on the page, it annoys the crap out of me when sung. I know that some of you will point out beloved songs of mine that also have near rhyme. Fine. This one just really gets me.

Anyway… two cool pairs, one annoying pair… but all in all, a beautiful hymn. The lyrics are gorgeous, the tune is beautiful, and the mystery is present.

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Note: there appears to be some sort of problem posting images this morning. I’ll get one up when it stops being obstinate.

I suppose some Christmas carols shouldn’t be interrogated too deeply…

…because otherwise we would never get past the first line. I mean, who are Jeannette and Isabella, why are there French women (or girls) in Bethlehem, and what good will a torch be if Mary’s trying to get the baby to sleep?

Yeah, let’s let all of that go, and celebrate this sweet, light French carol – a 17th century folk song from Provence. The song remains an important part of Christmas Eve celebrations in the Provence region, where children dress up as shepherds and milkmaids, carrying torches and candles to Midnight Mass while singing this carol.

Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle,
un flambeau, courons au berceau!
C’est Jésus, bonnes gens du hameau,
le Christ est né, Marie appelle,
Ah! Ah! Ah! Que la mère est belle,
Ah! Ah! Ah! que l’Enfant est beau!

Bring a torch, Jeannette, Isabella,
bring a torch and quickly run.
Christ is born, good folk of the village,
Christ is born and Mary’s calling,
Ah! Ah! Beautiful is the mother,
Ah! Ah! Beautiful is her child.

Come and see within the stable,
come and see the Holy one,
come and see the lovely Jesus,
brown his brow, his cheeks are rosy.
Hush! Hush! Quietly now he slumbers,
Hush! Hush! Quietly now he sleeps.

I should mention that according to Hymnary, there is a third verse, and it’s a bit of a scold:

It is wrong when the Child is sleeping
It is wrong to talk so loud;
Silence, all, as you gather around.
Lest your noise should waken Jesus.
Hush! hush! see how fast He slumbers;
Hush! hush! see how fast He sleeps!

I’m really glad our Hymnal Commission didn’t include this verse – yikes! It’s much more lovely with just the verses we sing.

And yes, I love that this is included in our hymnal, especially with the first verse in French. It’s not at all deep or theological, but it is lovely and gentle. I love this in children’s or treble voices, sung lightly as if a dance.

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The picture is of some of the Christmas celebrations in Provence. Sheep apparently figure prominently.

Note: There’s some business at the end of the post. Good stuff.

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God bless our Hymnal Commission.

They worked very hard to ensure the music contained in this collection reflects our theologies, with an eye to expansiveness. I appreciate their hard work – and as I reflected in O Come Emmanuel, I think they often hit the mark.

I’m not just saying that because a member of the commission reads this regularly. (waves hi.) It is true – there are some marvelous choices they make. And from an expansively theological viewpoint, the edits in this beloved hymn are also marvelous.

Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o’er the plains
and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strains.

(Chorus)
Gloria, in excelsis Deo.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo.

Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why these songs of happy cheer?
What great brightness did you see? What glad tidings did you hear?

(Chorus)

See him in a manger laid whom the angels praise above;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, while we raise our hearts in love.

(Chorus)

And.

I’m not sure why verse two needed to be changed at all; it’s not like we don’t mention heaven elsewhere in the hymnal. Here’s the original verse two:

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
which inspire your heavenly song? [Chorus]

But what I’m really a little sad about is that we had to lose the original verse three, rather than simply include the new verse three; they’re not that similar and then congregations would have had the option to sing the higher Christology v. lower Christology verse. I mean, this is the verse we all grew up on (if you grew up on Christmas carols):

Come to Bethlehem and see
him whose birth the angels sing;
come, adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the new-born King. [Chorus]

I mean, I get it – in an effort to remove the language of empire, we needed to get rid of “King” and “Lord” – so I don’t fault the Hymnal Commission really. On the other hand, there’s a wishy-washy-ness here, an approach that says we don’t want to bother anybody with a briefly strong statement of theology, especially when it’s Christian in nature. (I doubt this is what the Commission had in mind – although I suspect they also were wrestling with non-Christians about making these songs accessible.)

So I don’t know. I could – and probably should – let it go. After all, we’ve got a SLEW of these carols to go, many of which have reconfigured lyrics. Some of them are not to my taste, but some of them are. The good news is that we didn’t shy away from including them.

Finally, I should mention that this is one of my favorite traditional carols. I love singing it and have a blast adding harmonies and descants. I don’t mind singing this one on a mid-May morning at all!

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Two quick bits of business:

1. A huge pile of thanks to regular reader and colleague Oscar Sinclair, who saw that I bemoaned the empty spot on my bookshelf where the last of the Seaburg collections should be – a copy of Celebrating Christmas was in my mailbox yesterday!
2. Because folks are already making appointments and planning events for General Assembly, and because I already had a lot of people sign up to sing with me at GA, I have chosen the winners and am scheduling the days! If you still want to get together while there, send me a note here or on Facebook and we’ll see what we can do.

   Meanwhile, I’m thrilled to say that I’ll be spending my mornings with Monica Dobbins, Lyn Cox, Karen Eng, Marcia Stanard, Katy Carpman, Katie Kandarian-Morris, and Rachael Hayes. I’ll also be catching up with Debra Boyd, Suzanne Fast, and Oscar Sinclair. WHEE!!

What a beautiful lullaby I wish I had known before today.

I feel like a bit of a broken record, but I think my assessment that we go for the carols we know may be right. And now, not only am I sad that I never looked at this one before now, I’m sad it wasn’t in my childhood Christmas repertoire.

This is a gentle folks song – listed as simply “Hispanic” in our hymnal, but further research suggests this is a Mexican lullaby. I have no idea if the translation by John Donald Robb is accurate, as I never studied Spanish; but my study of Latin tells me it’s at least in the ballpark. Perhaps one of my Spanish-speaking readers can add their two cents? I hope the translation is close, because I find there to be a deep sadness to them – a mother wanting to protect her child, knowing the hard harsh world she has brought this child into, vowing comfort and protection in the midst of horror.

Duermete, Niño lindo,
en los brazos del amor
mientras que duerme y descansa
la pena de mi dolor.

(Chorus)
A la ru, a la mé,
a la ru, a la mé,
a la ru, a la mé,
a la ru, a la ru,
a la mé.

No temas al rey Herodes
que nada teha de lacer;
en los brazos de tu madre y ahi’
nadie teha de ofender.

(Chorus)

Oh, sleep now, holy baby,
with your head against my breast;
meanwhile the pangs of my sorrow
are soothed and put to rest.

(Chorus)
You need not fear King Herod,
he will bring no harm to you;
so rest in the arms of your mother
who sings you ‘a la ru.’

(Chorus)

In order to learn it, I went to YouTube, and I found this lovely version from the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, using a harp in the accompaniment. Enjoy!

Apologies for the delay – we had some technical difficulties out here on the Far Fringe. But we’re back!

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Wow am I a creature of habit.

Thanks to this practice, I’m learning all these new Christmas songs, realizing that I never even bothered to look past the familiar title to the unfamiliar ones. I don’t know why, as a Unitarian Universalist, I wouldn’t be interested in seeing what we have to sing about the season; although I wonder if my “we are gonna celebrate Christmas with all the Jesus-Savior-Miracle language we can get and no one can stop me” attitude – which extends only through the music, by the way – has kept me from looking at carols like this, written by Unitarian Universalist minister Heather Lynn Hanson.

It’s a sweet little lullaby, this one. A nurturing, gentle song without the saccharine sweetness of the Away in a Manger tunes.

Gather ‘round the manger, softly, softly.
See the precious stranger. Sing Allelu.

Simple shepherds greet you, Jesu, Jesu.
Stately magi seek you. Sing Allelu.

Mary gently holds you, softly, softly.
Joseph’s love enfolds you. Sing Allelu.

Through the eons reaching, Jesu, Jesu,
Love’s great lesson teaching. Sing Allelu.

I love its completeness; with a few simple words, it tells the story of that moment. I love that it honors Joseph – I love its sense of import – and I love its sense of intimacy.

In a world that has gotten far too noisy and fraught with palace intrigue, espionage, and political entanglements, it is actually really nice to sing this gentle Christmas carol and be held by “Love’s great lesson.”

When my minister Linda Hoddy retired, I was allowed a chance to take books from her study to fill my own library. I found there a bounty of books on history, theology, pastoral care, and Biblical studies. Scant were the books on worship and the many meditation and prayer books, but even there I got a few. About a year later, when Linda decided she really wasn’t going back into the pulpit (something that changed last year when she accepted a position as a very part time minister of a small fellowship in Connecticut), she brought me a couple of boxes full of those meditation manuals, books of prayers, and other assorted goodies, including Carl Seaburg’s Communion Book, Celebrating Easter and Spring, and Great Occasions.

But the one book I long admired, the one book I most wanted – his 1983 collection Celebrating Christmas – never made it my way. And I can understand why: this collection, to the best of my memory, was brimming with readings and service ideas, a treasure trove of December delights.

I tell you this, because it is one of Seaburg’s lyrics that we sing today. (We last sang his words in early November, when I wasn’t inclined to do much more than sing and hit publish.)

Technically, it is the lyric written by prolific Irish poet and lyricist Cecil Frances Alexander; according to Hymnary.org, she wrote nearly 400 poems and lyrics, mostly for children. The original lyric humanizes the young Jesus and helps the meaning become more accessible; similarly, Seaburg’s recasting helps put the Christmas story into context and offers a lesson in what it might mean for us.

Once in royal David’s city stood a lowly cattle shed,
where a mother laid her baby in a manger for his bed;
so may we when life turns hard find in love our stay and guard.

Shepherds came to see this wonder, and to kneel in holy awe
at that lowly stable manger where the infant lay on straw;
so may we this happy morn honor every child that’s born.

From afar three magi journeyed to that stable rude and bare,
to pay homage to the infant, offering gifts both rich and rare;
so may we our gifts bestow, whether we be high or low.

In that happy Christmas spirit, hear the angels from on high
sing their ancient salutations: joy’s a gift you cannot buy.
So may we, with heart that sings, share the truth this season brings.

If I loved the tune more (Irby, from that big pile of English Victorian tunes), I’d say it’s the perfect carol for a children’s Christmas Eve service, or for a Lessons and Carols service. That said, this tune just doesn’t do it for me. And while this is our only 8.7.8.7.7.7, it can easily be sung to tunes with 8.7.8.7.8.7, like Julion (Lady of the Seasons’ Laughter) or Westminster Abbey (Sing Out Praises for the Journey, coming in July), both of which seem more suited to the words.

That being said, I do like this carol.

Still wish I had that book, though.

How have I never sung this?

It is such a gentle, delightful lyric (by Howard Box), set to such a delightful little tune (a Hungarian folk song).

Am I the only one who has never included this one in any Christmas anything I’ve done? Is it because we have so many familiar Christmas carols already, I don’t feel the need to reach for a new one? That seems silly when I type it out, although it’s entirely possible. Is it because it feels a bit like a children’s tune? I say that’s a silly reason, and really, a children’s Christmas carol is all the more welcome, to combat the onslaught of magic snowmen and renegade reindeer and questionable presents.

What’s more, its nice to have a Christmas carol that is exceptionally Christmas without being exceptionally “son of God” centered, but rather hope, peace, and tenderness-centered.

Créche flickers bright here, sing by the light here
at night fall, at night fall.
Mother’s here keeping a child who’s sleeping
in the stall, in the stall.

Father’s beside them, sheep nearly hide them.
Angels call, angels call.
Shepherds and sages bow through the ages,
kindred all, kindred all.

Créche flickers bright here, sing by the light here
at night fall, at night fall.
This is our token, by sign unspoken:
peace to all, peace to all.

I just love this little piece. I even love that Box used “kindred all” in the second verse. Not thrilled about “token” – but he really wanted the rhyme, I guess. I should also mention that I love this lyric as compared to his words for Bells in the High Tower. Where that one falls terribly flat for me, this one rings true.

So yeah. I’m a fan. I wish I’d thought to learn it a few years ago, because it would have been featuring prominently in my Christmas Eve services – and who knows when I’ll get to design one of those again.

Meanwhile, we’re in full on Christmas mode here at the Far Fringe…. let’s see if just singing a carol every day makes us as sick of them as we get during the actual season!