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STLT#227, Créche Flickers Bright Here
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,… Continue reading
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STLT#226, People, Look East
Diving right in – I love this hymn. It’s joyful, it’s anticipatory, it’s hopeful. The lyrics, by 19th century poet Eleanor Farjeon (best known for Morning Has Broken) are a wonderful exploration of the whole earth waiting to welcome the Christ child. Sure, there are two verses missing – but the third verse is not… Continue reading
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STLT#225, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
We have seen recast lyrics before, but this section of Advent and Christmas songs will include some of the most obvious-to-us recasts, for those who grew up listening to Christmas carols on the radio, in shopping malls, and on albums. In some cases, the changes feel conciliatory, in order to make some folks more comfortable.… Continue reading
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STLT#224, Let Christmas Come
Gentle Reader, You have had such patience with this practice, knowing that the hymns, sung in order starting in early October, would create some odd seasonal juxtapositions. You’ve read about summer songs in winter, evening songs in morning, happy songs in the darkness following the election. But nothing has prepared us for what’s coming now. Not… Continue reading
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STLT#223, Rock of Ages, Let Our Song
I’ve been staring at the screen, sipping coffee, for longer than is entirely comfortable, feeling empty and lacking in anything of substance – humorous, snarky, historic, theological, musical, or otherwise – to say. Perhaps in a different time and place, when there is a sense of pride in who we are as a nation, this… Continue reading
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STLT#222, Mi Y’Malel
It is apparently old folky week here at the Far Fringe… because I first learned this song a million years ago through a recording by The Weavers: Yessiree, that’s Pete Seeger on the banjo, along with the incredible Ronnie Gilbert on lead vocals, along with Lee Hays and Fred Hellerman. I remember once in my… Continue reading
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STLT#221, Light One Candle
The first time I remember knowing who Peter, Paul, and Mary were, I was about 8 and was watching my brother and his first wife singing the song “Lemon Tree.” Karen had long chestnut brown hair and a rich alto voice, and while I often associated her with another alto brunette named Karen – Karen… Continue reading
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STLT#220, Bring Out the Festal Bread
I am such a geek. After singing this hymn (and loving it), I looked to see who wrote the lyrics, and I wondered to myself, in the pattern of our Universalist forebear Hosea Ballou: Do I love this lyric because Mark Belletini wrote it, or did Mark Belletini happen to be the person who wrote a… Continue reading
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STLT#219, O Hear, My People
I am writing this from the dining room of a sweet, retired director of religious education who has provided home hospitality for me and colleague Amy Zucker Morgenstern in Peterborough, New Hampshire, where yesterday we celebrated the installation of Diana McLean. It’s entirely possible the sweetness of this woman, and of Amy, and of Diana, and… Continue reading
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STLT#218, Who Can Say
As with any art form, the more you engage it, the more familiar you become with those who practice it – sometimes it’s easy, like discerning Picassos in the Modern Museum of Art. Sometimes it’s less so, requiring some familiarity – signature dance moves mark the difference between Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse, signature word… Continue reading
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links
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