Year's End

 

As we reach the end of 2023, many of us will reflect on the year gone by and look forward to the year ahead. This is a good time of year to consider your own walk with God. 

In my tradition, among other things, church membership vows include how we should give a "fitting proportion of time, talents and money" to the church's work in the world. At the end of 2023, maybe we should all take stock on how we did on this and how we might do better in 2024. For each one, this is a personal thing between them and God, but is always worth reviewing at least once a year and the start of a new year is a convenient time to do it.

We might also consider what sins we need to better "put to death" and what good works God is leading us to do.

All of us can surely do better. Almost all of us could use our time better to read God's word and pray for example. But maybe most important of all is to remember that we who believe in Him already have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Perhaps our biggest challenge is to live in that truth and let it guide us out of contentment and thanksgiving, not out of guilt.

We pray for a holy and blessed new year for all our readers in 2024.

My Top Ten Christmas Carols

I recenly posted a "Top Ten" Christmas carols countdown on my personal Facebook page as a countdown to Christmas and a gentle work of evangelism among my non-Christian friends. Here are my choices along with good performances of each carol.

Number 10 - While shepherds watched their flocks.

 

With ten days to go to Christmas, I thought I'd do a "top ten" Christmas carols counting down from today to Christmas Eve. These are my personal choices. With so many available, narrowing it down to 10 was hard. Your favourites might or might not feature in this list.

 

Coming in in 10th place is "While shepherds watchehd their flocks" (also published as "While humble shepherds watched" in some hymnals, including the ones I grew up with in the Church of Scotland).

 

The words were written by Nahum Tate (1652-1715) and they are a fairly straightforward paraphrase of the nativity story found in Luke's Gospel chapter 2. Tate was born in Dublin and was an Anglican clergyman, who also became Poet Laureate in 1692.

 

Although a number of tunes have been used with these words, the most common tune used in the UK at least is called WINCHESTER OLD which dates at least from the 1630s when it was published though it may predate being written down.

 

Here it is performed by the choir of King's College Cambridge in an arrangement by Sir David Willcocks.

 

Number 9 - It came upon the midnight clear

 

Coming in at 9th place on my top ten carols is "It came upon the midnight clear".

 

This is the first of two American carols in the top 10 and also one of those carols that are best known by different tunes on each side of the Atlantic.

 

The words were written in 1849 by Edmund Sears, who was actually a pastor in the Unitarian church. However, there is nothing in his words that would make them unacceptable to orthodox Trinitarians. 

 

Unlike many of the great carols that focus on the incarnation of the Son of God, Sears' words focus on the message of peace that the angels sang "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, good will to men" particularly the idea of "peace on earth" and considers not the events of Bethlehem but the sweep of history and how the world has not accepted the message of peace in "our time" whether that is the 19th century of the author or the 21st century in which we live.

 

In a year that been marked by wars and strife in different parts of the world, the words of the third verse are as poignant as ever:

 

But with the woes of sin and strife

The world has suffered long;

Beneath the angel-strain have rolled

Two thousand years of wrong;

And man, at war with man, hears not

The love-song which they bring; –

Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife,

And hear the angels sing!

 

As far as the music goes, as I said, the most common tune in the United States is known simply as CAROL or WILLIS which was written for this hymn by Richard Willis.

 

Personally, I have always found the American tune a bit syrupy. For that reason, I much prefer the tune composed by Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert & Sullivan fame) and usually called NOEL. It is Sullivan's tune which is usually sung in the UK and other Commonwealth countries.

 

In this recording, the carol is performed by the choir of Winchester Cathedral.

 

Number 8 - As with gladness, men of old

 

I suspect this one might not be on everyone's list of favourites, but it has always been one of mine, both for the words and the tune, which is perfect for congregational singing.

 

The words were written by William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898). Unlike most hymn writers in Victorian Britain who were mainly clergymen, Dix was a businessman, and actually worked for a time in Glasgow as manager of a marine insurance company.

 

Many hymns about the visit of the magi focus on the gifts, but Dix's hymn draws a number of parallels between the visit of the wise men (the "men of old") and how we should seek to live as Christians now. In the first three verses there is a recurring pattern: "As they did..."/ "So may we..."

 

In verse 1, as the wise men were guided to Christ by the star, so may we be led to Jesus. In verse 2, as they travelled joyfully to Bethlehem, so may we seek the place of propitiation or "mercy-seat" found at the cross. In verse 3, As they offered gifts, so may we present our best to King Jesus in our lives.

 

The whole hymn is a prayer really and this is most evident in verse 4 which is addressed to Jesus directly:

 

Holy Jesus, every day

keep us in the narrow way;

and, when earthly things are past,

bring our ransomed souls at last

where they need no star to guide,

where no clouds Thy glory hide.

 

Transitioning from the prayer for heaven in verse 4, the hymn ends with a triumphant last verse about heaven and how Christ himself will be everything we need there.

 

Almost the only tune used with this hymn is known as DIX, originally a German tune by Conrad Kocher. Although not written for this hymn specifically, it was later adapted for it by William Monk in the 1861 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern and has been used ever since with this hymn, the tune being re-named after the hymn's author.

 

Here it is, sung by Salisbury Cathedral Choir with a rousing descant in the final verse by Sir David Willcocks.

 

Number 7 - See, amid the winter's snow

 

At number 7 on my list is another Victorian carol, "See, amid the winter's snow" by Edward Caswall first published in 1858. The tune was later written for the words by John Goss in 1871. He called the tune HUMILITY which fits very well with the theme of Caswall's words.

 

Caswall converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism not long before he wrote this carol and the final verse he wrote, which includes a prayer to the Virgin Mary, is dropped from Protestant hymnals. 

 

Also, in some hymn books, the first line is changed to "See in yonder manger low" which I think misses something of the fact that in the UK and much of the northern hemisphere we do contemplate the events of Christmas in the cold and sometimes the snow of wintertime.

 

I chose this one partly because I love the tune with the quieter more reflective verses and the triumphant chorus, and also for the words, especially of two of the verses:

 

Lo, within a manger lies

He who built the starry skies

He who throned in height sublime

Sits amid the cherubim.

 

Sacred infant, all divine,

What a tender love was Thine,

Thus to come from highest bliss

Down to such a world as this.

 

To begin to grasp the truth of who this baby was and why he came into the world is to glimpse at the mystery of the incarnation and the grace of the good news.

 

Each verse sung in unison is followed by the powerful chorus in four-part harmony:

 

Hail, thou ever blessed morn,

Hail redemption's happy dawn,

Sing through all Jerusalem

Christ is born in Bethlehem.

 

Here is the carol performed by the choir of Guildford Cathedral.

 

Number 6 - Silent Night / Still the Night

 

This carol is probably many people's favourite and comes in at number 6 on my list. This is the first of two carols on the list not originally written in the English language.

 

The carol is from Austria and was originally written in German. The story goes that it was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in a little town called Oberndorf bei Salzburg, with words by Father Joseph Mohr and music by his organist, the local school teacher, Franz Gruber.

 

The English words exist in more than one version. The most commonly sung translation is by John Freeman Young, who was an Episcopal priest in New York City. It reads:

 

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 hosts sing Alleluia!

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!

 

However, anyone familiar with the Church of Scotland hymnary in any of its editions, knows that we usually sing a slightly different version, translated by Stopford Brooke, an Irish-born Anglican cleric who served as a royal chaplain to Queen Victoria. It’s a matter of personal preference, but I like these words a little better:

 

Still the night, holy the night!

Sleeps the world; hid from sight,

Mary and Joseph in stable bare

watch o'er the child belovèd and fair,

sleeping in heavenly rest,

sleeping in heavenly rest.

 

Still the night, holy the night!

Shepherds first saw the light,

heard resounding clear and long,

far and near, the angel-song,

'Christ the Redeemer is here!'

'Christ the Redeemer is here!'

 

Still the night, holy the night!

Son of God, O how bright

love is smiling from thy face!

Strikes for us now the hour of grace,

Saviour, since thou art born!

Saviour, since thou art born!

 

There are few recordings of this alternative version, many of the “Silent Night” version, but here is St Thomas Choir (Thomanerchor) in Leipzig, singing in the original German version and what a pure sound they create.

 

Number 5 – O come, all ye faithful

 

We now enter the top five of my personal selection of top ten Christmas carols. As the lyrics say, this carol is indeed ‘joyful and triumphant’ and ‘O come, all ye faithful’ takes the number five spot.

 

Although one of the best-known carols, the origin of its words and tune are shrouded in mystery. There's even a conspiracy theory that the words are actually a Jacobite coded message!

 

A number of people have been suggested as authors of the words. By the way, this is the second of our carols that were not originally in English, the original language in this case being Latin. The opening words in Latin are Adeste Fidelis. The main candidates for authorship include King John IV of Portugal, a 17th century musician called John Reading, and an 18th century writer called John Francis Wade. Wade is usually considered the most likely writer, but we do not really know. The first published version was by Wade in 1751.

 

The English translation was made by a Catholic priest, Frederick Oakeley in 1841, with additional translations by William Thomas Brooke.

 

The tune, known as ADESTE FIDELIS, is also of uncertain origin with many suggestions over the years including Wade himself, John Reading, King John IV, as well as a number of famous composers such as Handel, Gluck and Thomas Arne.

 

The arrangement by David Willcocks is justly celebrated with its descant on the “Sing choirs of angels” verse and his re-harmonisation of the final “Yea Lord we greet Thee” verse.

 

The words themselves touch on many of the central truths of the incarnation of Christ. The hymn is often used as the penultimate carol at Nine Lessons and Carols services following the reading of the ninth lesson, John 1:1-18. The words in the final verse “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing” are a paraphrase of John 1:14.

 

In normal church Christmas services, the hymn is often used as the opening hymn as God’s people gather to worship.

 

Here is the hymn, in the Willocks arrangement, sung at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College. Cambridge.

 

Number 4 – Once in royal David's city

 

As we reach the top four of my personal choices of Christmas carol, it is very difficult to put these in order.

 

"Once in royal David's city" was written originally as a poem by Cecil Frances Alexander (née Humphreys) and then published in 1848 as one of her "Hymns for Little Children." I think it is important to remember that this is a children's hymn and when you read the words that way it makes a lot of sense.

 

Mrs Alexander was an Anglo-Irish hymn writer born in Dublin and was married to William Alexander in 1850. He was later Bishop of Derry and Archbishop of Armagh in the Church of Ireland. Among her other well-known hymns are "All things bright and beautiful" and "There is a green hill far away".

 

The words are simple enough for a child to understand, yet cover the profound truths of the incarnation, that Jesus was fully God:

 

He came down to earth from heaven

Who is God and Lord of all" (v.2)

 

And at the same time, he was fully human like any one of us:

 

For he is our childhood's pattern;

Day by day like us he grew,

He was little, weak, and helpless,

Tears and smiles like us he knew." (v.4)

 

My favourite verses are the final two (verses 5 and 6) where the writer reflects on the fact that we will one day see Jesus. In verse 5 she explains that it is by Christ himself and his work that we are saved and in verse 6 she points out that when we see him it will not be as a baby in the manger, but as the King of heaven.

 

And our eyes at last shall see him

Through his own redeeming love,

For that Child so dear and gentle,

Is our Lord in heaven above:

And he leads his children on

To the place where he is gone.

 

Not in that poor lowly stable,

With the oxen standing by,

We shall see him: but in heaven,

Set at God's right hand on high,

Where like stars his children crowned,

All in white shall wait around.

 

The hymn was set to music a year after it was written by Henry John Gauntlett. His tune is called IRBY.

The hymn is traditionally the first one sung at many Lessons and Carols services, most famously at King's College Cambridge, with a boy treble singing the opening verse solo and unaccompanied.

 

Here it is in a performance by Trinity College Choir, Cambridge.

 

Number 3 – O little town of Bethlehem

 

Some of the carols we have looked at are shrouded in mystery as to their exact origins, but the very opposite is the case for "O little town of Bethlehem" where we know a great deal about its composition.

This is the second American carol on our list. It was written in 1868 by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), an Episcopalian clergyman who was rector of Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts. He was inspired to write the words after visiting Bethlehem on a tour of the Holy Land.

 

The words reflect on how the most significant event in history, the birth of the Son of God came so quietly that most the world never even knew it happened. Yet for those who "receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in."

 

The final verse is a prayer that Christ would come and make his home in our hearts as we respond to the gospel:

 

We hear the Christmas angels,

the great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us,

our Lord Emmanuel!

 

As with the other American carol on this list ("It came upon the midnight clear") the carol is usually sung to different tunes in the USA and in the UK.

 

In a way, the American tune is the more "authentic" one. It was written by Brooks's own organist, Lewis Redner, for the hymn and with the author's approval. The tune is known as ST LOUIS.

However, in the UK, we normally sing the hymn to an English folk tune, FOREST GREEN, which was paired with the words by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.

 

It probably depends a lot on what you are used to, but I like both tunes, though I think the American tune is definitely of its time and can sound overly sentimental, which is fine if I'm feeling overly sentimental myself!

 

So we have two renditions to share on this one. First, we have the American tune sung by the Trinity Choir. Second, the choir of Ely Cathedral singing the hymn to FOREST GREEN.

Number 2 – In the bleak mid-winter

 

The second top place goes to "In the bleak mid-winter" and it was a close thing between this and the number one. This carol is simply perfect and makes it feel like Christmas any time I listen to it or sing it.

 

The words were originally written as a poem by the English poet Christina Gabriel Rossetti (1830-1894), though perhaps with prescience she titled the poem "A Christmas Carol" when it was first published in 1872.

 

The original poem has five stanzas. Verse one focuses on the weather around Christmas time, at least in the cold northern hemisphere, and hints at the fact that it was (and is) a harsh world that the Christ child was born into.

 

Then in verse two the focus switches to the incarnation itself with the God who reigns over all becoming a poor baby born in a stable.

 

Verse three (which is omitted in some versions of the sung carol) focuses on the child's human needs ("a breastful of milk and a mangerful of hay") yet even then he received the "worship" of "the ox and ass and camel which adore."

 

The fourth verse imagines the angels and archangels gathering to worship, but Mary worshipping Jesus with a tender kiss.

 

The final verse creates a challenge for the poet and us today. "What can I give Him, poor as I am?" And her answer, which ours should be too, is to give Him our hearts.

 

I have always had a deeply emotional experience when singing these words.

 

And that brings us to the music. It is sad that Rossetti never lived to see her words set to music. She died in 1894. There are two equally good and famous settings of the words to music. The first one was by the English composer Gustav Holst (he of "The Planets" fame) in 1906. He called his hymn tune CRANHAM. This is maybe the best-known version and certainly the one suitable for congregational hymn singing. It is a beautiful tune which matches the mood of the words perfectly.

 

As with many of the carols we have looked at, there is more than one setting of the words. The second tune was written by Harold Darke in 1909. Darke's version is more suited as an anthem for a choir to sing as each verse has a different arrangement, some with solo voices, some unaccompanied. It is also a lovely tune which is well-matched with the text.

 

There are at least five or six other settings with other tunes, but these are the "big two".

 

We present both versions, first the Darke version with the Cambridge Singers, with City of London Sinfonia conducted by John Rutter. Second the Holst setting to the tune Cranham sung by the choir of King's College Cambridge conducted by Stephen Cleobury.

 

Number 1 – Hark! The herald angels sing

 

So we arrive at our number one choice this Christmas Eve and I've chosen "Hark! the herald angels sing" as my favourite Christmas carol of all.

 

The original words were written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788) in 1739, although Wesley's original is a bit different from the version we normally sing today. Wesley's opening words were "Hark! how all the Welkin rings, Glory to the King of Kings" ("Welkin" is an archaic word for "heaven"). The first words were revised by Wesley's colleague, George Whitefield, to "Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the new-born King" as well as a few other changes, and more tweaks to the words occurred in later years. Wesley also wrote several more verses than we normally sing today.

 

The great words of this carol really get to the heart of the Christmas message and the Christian gospel.

In verse one the message of the angels in Luke 2 are the focus:

 

Hark! The herald angels sing,

"Glory to the newborn King;

Peace on earth and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled."

 

In verse two, the words reflect on the fact that the baby Jesus is God incarnate, God made flesh:

 

Christ, by highest heaven adored

Christ, the everlasting Lord,

Late in time behold him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb:

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,

Hail the incarnate Deity,

Please as man with man to dwell,

Jesus, our Emmanuel.

 

The third verse is a great hymn of praise to Christ:

 

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Risen with healing in His wings.

But the verse also comes back to the gospel message of salvation:

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth.

 

Each verse ends with the same refrain as the hymn's opening:

 

Hark! The herald angels sing,

"Glory to the newborn King!"

 

It is hard now to even read the words without also hearing the tune for this carol. Yet the words and music are separated by a century. The tune for this carol is usually kunown as MENDELSSOHN or sometimes as BETHLEHEM. It was written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840 for a completely different piece, a secular cantata called "Festgesang" about the printer Gutenberg. It wasn't until 1855 that William Cummings, organist at Waltham Abbey Church paired Mendelssohn's tune (with slight amendment) with Wesley/Whitefield's words, and the rest is history.

 

Incidentally, before that, Wesley himself in his lifetime, preferred "Hark! The herald" to be sung to the same tune he used for "Christ the Lord is risen today" which is Handel's tune MACCABAEUS usually used today with "Thine be the glory". Confused yet? As with one or two other carols on the list, it is strange to think that Wesley never heard his hymn sung to the tune we can't imagine it without nowadays.

 

The hymn is often sung with a rousing descant and reharmonsiation on the final verse by Sir David Willcocks which was written in 1961.

 

So, here is "Hark! the Herald angels sing" in Willcocks' arrangement. As befitting our number one choice, this version also has a brass fanfare to introduce it. Here it is sung by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge conducted by David Willcocks, with organ and the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble.