Notes on the Notes – December 24, 2022

Christmas Eve 

“O Come, All Ye Faithful” (VU #60)

“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels,
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

 Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation.
Sing all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest!
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,
leaving their flocks, draw nigh with lowly fear;
We too would thither bend our joyful footsteps.
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”

The original four verses of “O Come All Ye Faithful” were discovered in an eighteenth century Jacobean manuscript with John Francis Wade’s signature.  At one time historians believed that Wade had simply discovered an ancient hymn by an unknown author, possibly St. Bonaventura, a thirteenth century Italian scholar.  Further examination, however, has led many to believe that Wade wrote both the words and music of this hymn himself.  The lyrics are a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Tonight we will be singing verses 1, 3, and 4.

See the carol in worship at Westminster Abbey:  https://youtu.be/l1wHyMR_SCA

See Pentatonix’s interpretation of the carol at:  https://youtu.be/Mj7Pr42rliI

Hear Frank Sinatra sing the carol at:  https://youtu.be/NczzSYC-s10

“God’s Hope and Joy” 

“God is love, and His love will come to us.
Love will come to us tonight.
God is love, and His love will be with us.
Love will be with us tonight.

God is peace, and His peace will come to us.
Peace will come to us tonight.
God is peace, and His peace will be with us.
Peace will be with us tonight. 

Who will bring His peace and love?
A tiny babe, a little boy.
In Bethlehem a manger child will be God’s love and joy. 

God is hope, and His hope will come to us.
Hope will come to us tonight.
God is hope, and His hope will be with us. 
Hope will be with us tonight. 

Who will bring His peace and hope?
A tiny babe, a little boy.
In Bethlehem a manger child will be God’s hope and joy.

Peace, hope and love,
Coming from above,
Jesus comes to us tonight.”

Throughout Advent we have explored the themes of hope, peace, joy and love. Christmas Eve marks the end of Advent, when we celebrate Jesus’ birth as Emmanuel – God with us.  Tonight’s anthem was written by Herb Frombach and David Lantz III (2004).

“O Little Town of Bethlehem” (v 1 & 4)

“O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie,
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark street shineth the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in; be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell:
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.”

The text for “O Little Town of Bethlehem” was written by Phillips Brooks (1835–1893), an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. He was inspired by visiting the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his church, and his organist, Lewis Redner, added the music. Redner’s tune, simply titled ST. LOUIS, is the tune used most often for this carol in the United States and Canada.

Find different videos

See Sarah McLachlan sing this carol at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyPMDD8fGeA

Sing along at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpHY3jU27dc

Hear the song “Bethlehem” by Chris Tomlin at:  https://youtu.be/kL2d4MI85KA

“Away in a Manger” (VU #69 v 1 & 2)

“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky look down where He lay,
the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.
I love you, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky,
And stay by my side until morning is nigh.”

This traditional children’s carol is an anonymous text which seems to have come from the German Lutheran community in Pennsylvania.  The tune CRADLE SONG was published in an American collection of Christmas songs entitled Around the World with Christmas (1895).

Hear the song on harp at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rYc-XTYib4o

“Silent Night” 

“Silent night!  Holy night! 
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night!  Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight:
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly host sing Hallelujah,
Christ the Saviour is born,
Christ the Saviour is born.

Silent night!  Holy night!
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.”

The music for “Silent Night” (German: “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht”) was composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndoft bei Salzburg, Austria.  It has been translated into about 140 languages.

See John Denver and the Muppets perform the song with history of the carol at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FqgYPWRDFs

See Lindsey Stirling perform the song at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmvwWxzg3lc

See The Tenors with Jackie Evancho at:  https://youtu.be/Q9sOE91POZg

“Angels We Have Heard on High” (VU #38 v 1 & 2)

“Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains,
And the mountains in reply,
Echoing their joyous stains.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!”

Many years ago shepherds in the hills of southern France had a Christmas Eve custom of calling to one another, singing “Gloria in Excelsis Deo,” each from his own hillside. The traditional tune that the shepherds used may have been from a late Medieval Latin chorale. It became the magnificent chorus of “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

See the boys choir Liberia perform at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7MTjm6UYYA

See the fascinating Piano Guys at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n543eKIdbUI

See Andrea Bocelli and chorus at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5iaV989_5M

“Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” (VU #48 v 1 & 3)

“Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth and mercy mild,  God and sinners reconciled:
Joyful all ye nations rise,  Join the triumph of the skies,
With the angelic host proclaim,  Christ is born in Bethlehem:
Hark! the herald angels sing  Glory to the newborn King.

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all hi brings, risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by, born that we no more may die;
Born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!”

The carol we now know as “Hark! the herald angels sing” did not start life as such, and required at least four people to bring it to its current form. Charles Wesley wrote the original words as a Christmas Day hymn and first published it in 1739, with ten four-line verses, rather than the longer eight-line verses with refrain which we have now.

The tune was composed by Felix Mendelssohn for his Festgesang, Op. 68.  It was scored for male voices with brass accompaniment, for the Gutenberg Festival in 1840 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the invention of the printing press.  It was adapted into a hymn tune by William Hayman Cummings in 1856.

“Joy To the World” (VU #59 v. 1 & 4)

“Joy to the world!  The Lord is come:
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

He rules the earth with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love,
And wonders of his love,
And wonders, wonders of his love.”

We end our Christmas Eve service by singing the first and fourth verses of this joyful carol.  The text is a paraphrase of Psalm 88:4-9.  It was written by Isaac Watts and first published in his Psalms of David in 1719.

Enjoy this carol by:

Boys’ choir “Libera” at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IH8A86FLs0

Played on handbells at:  https://youtu.be/mh6vyghzmM0

The Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble with The Tabernacle Choir at: https://youtu.be/7r3VVMUhAxU