Hark The Herald Angels Sing

This is truly one of my favorite Christmas carols. Penned by Charles Wesley, it is a hymn I could sing over and over again!

If the human race were "all the Whos down in Whoville" and the Grinch was (well, you know who), I'd believe this is what we'd sing on Christmas morning! The only gift we need is Christ  - given to us on Christmas Day - and he's the only gift that can't be taken from us.

The inspiration for this particular recording (and subsequent project) came from a piano book my mother purchased for my daughter years ago - a duet book I'm sure she hoped my daughter (who had just started taking piano lessons at the time) and I (as a pianist) would enjoy together. In the intervening years, after receiving the book, my mother had a stroke and due to her inability to travel was never able to hear my daughter & I play from it. Well, this year, my daughter and I made a project of recording these Christmas Carol duets to share with her. This way, through the miracle of computers (since they don't have a piano), we could share the joy of this music with grandma and grandpa when visiting for Christmas. And, we wanted to share it with you, too!

This is not an instrumental arrangement as much as it is a simple (played with an organ at full blast  - as this piece should be!) traditional rendering of the familiar Christmas carol that you can use as a sing-along accompaniment. So, crank up the volume and sing out! That's why we recorded it! (Lyrics below.)

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 angelic host proclaim

"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Hark! the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ, by highest heaven adored;

Christ the everlasting Lord;

Late in time behold Him come,

Offspring of the favored one.

Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see;

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with men to dwell,

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! the herald angels sing,

"Glory to the newborn King"

Hail! the heaven-born Prince of Peace!

Hail! the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings,

Risen with healing in His wings.

Mild He lays His glory by,

Born that man no more may die;

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth

Hark! the herald angels sing,

"Glory to the newborn King"

For more Christmas Carol Sing-Along arrangements see the Christmas Carol page here. 

A Child Is Born In Bethlehem

(A traditional Danish melody)

I can't even begin to tell you how much joy playing this piece gives me!  It's a little raucous, I suppose, because the joy of the announcement is almost impossible to contain. It is such a beautiful arrangement and evokes the sheer joy of the moment. To me, it can't have enough brightness, enough strings, enough joy! 


Hallelujah! A Child is Born in Bethlehem! 
And, nothing is the same....


The piano "noodling" in the middle is my favorite part.... If you were to sing this piece, this is where you'd just rest your voice and let the piano take over... Close your eyes. It evokes this just pure ecstasy that must soar and sort of revel in the movement of the chords..... Once I added the string setting, it just brought tears to my eyes.... I didn't know it could get even better...and then, it did. 


In order to be able to play the middle "noodling" section, because I take it at such a break-neck speed, and I'm no longer a facile young musician (!), I just have to shut my eyes and feel it. Then, let 'er rip! It's so heavenly to play!!!!  I hope you hear that.  


This brings me as close to Christ as I dare to be while on this earth.... That, to me, is truly, the gift of music....  Thank you, Michael Scott for this arrangement!


(And no, the left hand never changes! Isn't that lovely!!!?!)

Fra Angelico 

Lyrics

A child is born in Bethlehem, 

In Bethlehem;

And joy is in Jerusalem,

Alleluia,  alleluia!

A lonely maiden all alone,

So all alone;

Gave birth to God's only Holy Son,

Alleluia, alleluia!

She chose a manger for his bed,

For Jesus' bed;

God's angels sang for joy o'erhead,

Alleluia, alleluia!

Give thanks and praise eternally,

Eternally;

To God the Holy Trinity,

Alleluia, alleluia!

Note: This compilation by Michael Scott (Celebrate the Seasons) is now out of print, sadly. But, I did find a link to this particular piece which can be purchased, here. 

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

(Scroll to bottom of post for .mp3 player)

The Annunciation, Fra Angelico (1387-1455)

Isai­ah 7:14: “Be­hold, a vir­gin shall con­ceive, and bear a son, 

and shall call his name Im­man­u­el.”

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,

Who orderest all things mightily;

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;

From depths of hell Thy people save,

And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,

And open wide our heavenly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,

Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height

In ancient times once gave the law

In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,

An ensign of Thy people be;

Before Thee rulers silent fall;

All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind

In one the hearts of all mankind;

Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,

And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

Christmas Time Is Here...

Charlie Brown: I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel.  

Charlie Brown: I just don't understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed. 

Linus Van Pelt: Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. Maybe Lucy's right. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas: Skating

Christmas!

Christmastime is here! 

That means, it's time to crank out some favorite holiday tunes. Nothing says Christmas, like Christmas Music! So, the next project on the list is to put together some Christmas tunes for the blog!

A few years ago I found a great collection of Christmas piano music with a George Winston feel to it. It was a blast to play, right out of the box on an acoustic instrument. We were babysitting a grand piano at the time in our house. And, playing this music at the holidays was such a treat. I no longer have the grand piano, but we do have a digital keyboard (the inspiration for this blog!) and so, I'll be once again, putting the digital instrument to good use! 

Have I said how excited I am? Well, I am! I've already gathered the music, arranged the settings, filled our home with the tunes.... (And, yes, the computer was finally fixed!) So now, all that needs to be done, is the recording! 

I hope to do that within the next week. And when I do, I hope you enjoy a little Christmas music to accompany your holiday season! 

Stay tuned....

Computer Trouble!

Well, after a good start with the first project, the computer has suffered a breakdown! When that is fixed, look for several more hymn recordings, however!  (I missed being able to post a 9/11 tribute, too!) Meanwhile, you can still listen to previous recordings via the "Listen" tab or by way of individual posts by song title.

As always, thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoy some of the music!

Holy, Holy, Holy

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 6:3

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!


This arrangement comes from Sunday Morning Companion, Arr by Victor Labenske, found here. More details can be found on the Project Page.

Fairest Lord Jesus

One of the first hymns I ever learned, while in Vacation Bible School. I always had this image of a Savior who was peaceful, loving and kind. And, I loved all of the nature that was described in the song, the most memorable being the "fair meadow". It always seems to me to be a song best sung in the springtime of the year, when so much of the images are present in the world around you, testifying that Jesus is ruler of all nature and yet, fairer than any of it.

Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,

O Thou of God and man the Son, 
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,

Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,

Robed in the blooming garb of spring; 
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,

Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine,Fairer still the moonlight, 
And all the twinkling starry host;

Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer

Than all the angels heaven can boast.

All fairest beauty, heavenly and earthly,

Wondrously, Jesus, is found in Thee; 
None can be nearer, fairer or dearer,

Than Thou, my Savior, art to me.

Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!

Son of God and Son of Man! 
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,

Now and forever more be Thine.

This arrangement comes from Sunday Morning Companion, Arr by Victor Labenske, found here. More details can be found on the Project Page.

Eternal Father, Strong To Save

"Rescue me and deliver me in Your righteousness; 

turn Your ear to me and save me.”

 Psalm 71:2

In America, “Eter­nal Fa­ther” is oft­en called the “Na­vy Hymn,” be­cause it is sung at the Na­val Acad­e­my in An­na­po­lis, Ma­ry­land. It is al­so sung on ships of the Brit­ish Roy­al Na­vy and has been trans­lat­ed in­to French. It was the fa­vor­ite hymn of U.S. Pres­i­dent Frank­lin Roo­se­velt and was sung at his fun­er­al in Hyde Park, New York, Ap­ril 1945. The Na­vy Band played it in 1963 as U.S. Pre­si­dent John Ken­ne­dy’s bo­dy was car­ried up the steps of the U.S. Cap­i­tol to lie in state. Roo­se­velt served as Sec­re­ta­ry of the Na­vy, and Ken­ne­dy was a PT boat com­mand­er in World War II.

Eternal Father, strong to save,

Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,

Who biddest the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep;

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea!

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard

And hushed their raging at Thy Word,

Who walked on the foaming deep,

And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood

Upon the chaos dark and rude,

And bid its angry tumult cease,

And give, for wild confusion, peace;

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!

Our family shield in danger’s hour;

From rock and tempest, fire and foe,

Protect us wheresoever we go;

Thus evermore shall rise to Thee

Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.


This arrangement comes from Sunday Morning Companion, Arr by Victor Labenske, found here. More details can be found on the Project Page.

Doxology

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

The Doxology, The Old 100th. If you've ever graced the doors of a church, you know it. I can't hear the Doxology without eventually hearing an organ. (And, to be honest, the sound of an entire congregation rushing to stand, as soon as the organ starts up.) This arrangement is particularly nice with it's modern harmonies and the running eighths. It's a bit rough around the edges in terms of transition. But, I thought I'd post it anyway.... (I dare you to not stand when you hear the organ at the end....)

Words: Thom­as Ken, 1674. These lyr­ics, sung as the Dox­ol­o­gy in many church­es, are ac­tu­al­ly the last verse of a long­er hymn, Awake, My Soul, and with the Sun.

Music: Old 100th, Ge­ne­van Psalt­er, 1551, at­trib­ut­ed to Lou­is Bour­geois 

This arrangement comes from Sunday Morning Companion, Arr by Victor Labenske, found here. More details can be found on the Project Page.

Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Another one of my favorite hymns. I have a jazzier arrangement than this, which I really like. But this one, while somber, is pleasant, too. I decided to add harpsichord/strings to it. The image of the "woman at the well" comes to mind when I hear this tune. I guess it's because this is where Jesus tells the woman that there are living waters you can drink from where you would thirst no more. And, the imagery of water in this song -  in terms of the streams of mercy, founts of blessing - just seem to fit. Jesus is the Living Water we can drink from and never thirst.  Hope you enjoy the arrangement.

By the way, all of the verses are worth reading, below. I particularly love the last 4 phrases. They have always really touched me:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

This arrangement comes from Sunday Morning Companion, Arr by Victor Labenske, found here. More details can be found on the Project Page.

Lyrics

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,

Yet from what I do inherit,

Here Thy praises I’ll begin;

Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Here by Thy great help I’ve come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood;

How His kindness yet pursues me

Mortal tongue can never tell,

Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me

I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;

Clothed then in blood washed linen

How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;

Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,

Take my ransomed soul away;

Send thine angels now to carry

Me to realms of endless day.

It Is Well With My Soul

Background

This hymn, the words of which were written by  Ho­ra­tio G. Spaf­ford, 1873,  was writ­ten af­ter two ma­jor trau­mas in Spaf­ford’s life. The first was the great Chi­ca­go Fire of Oc­to­ber 1871, which ru­ined him fi­nan­cial­ly (he had been a weal­thy bus­i­ness­man). Short­ly af­ter, while cross­ing the At­lan­tic, all four of Spaf­ford’s daugh­ters died in a col­li­sion with an­o­ther ship. Spaf­ford’s wife Anna sur­vived and sent him the now fa­mous tel­e­gram, “Saved alone.” Sev­er­al weeks lat­er, as Spaf­ford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daugh­ters died, the Ho­ly Spir­it in­spired these words. They speak to the eter­nal hope that all be­liev­ers have, no mat­ter what pain and grief be­fall them on earth.  


Music: Ville du Havre, Phil­ip P. Bliss, 1876 . The tune is named af­ter the ship on which Spaf­ford’s child­ren per­ished, the S.S. Ville de Havre. Iron­ic­al­ly, Bliss him­self died in a tra­gic train wreck short­ly af­ter writ­ing this mu­sic.

My Thoughts

The story of how this hymn came to be -  first told me by my father, I believe -  has always touched me. It is one of my favorite hymns.

My dad has always been a very positive person. You'd never know the tragedy or heartache in his life, to talk to him. That, to me, is the embodiment of the message of this hymn. "Though hast taught me to say, 'It is Well With My Soul'." Early in my life, I tried to find the positive, even if it meant just resorting to humor, to get through hard times. I think I got this from my father. It took me a long time to recognize its use in my life as a coping mechanism. I've not always been able to walk that brave line in the face of tragedy. But, it has been made easier through the example of my father, and of course, the Christ in my life.

This arrangement I felt needed to be sorrowful, almost the kind of sorrow you feel when you just can't take another step. The wind has been taken out of your sails. But, it also needed to express the hope that we all have in Christ, no matter the depth of our sorrow. All sorrows here are wiped away someday. In the middle of the arrangement, I switched to strings only. It sounded ethereal to me; as if choirs of angels, brave souls who had gone before, were singing down in hope, to support that poor soul, bearing so much weight, feeling so all alone...  I hope you hear not only the sorrow, but the blessed hope in this piece. It is still a bit rough around the edges, but I wanted to include it anyway. Who of us is not a bit "rough around the edges" if we indeed, need this tune? And yes, "It is Well with My Soul."

Listen Here

This arrangement comes from Sunday Morning Companion, Arr by Victor Labenske, found here. More details can be found on the Project Page.

Lyrics

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!

Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

O God, Our Help In Ages Past

Our God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

Words by Isaac Watts

I always enjoyed playing duets, as a pianist, with the organist in our church when I was younger. It was nice to just play together and trade off the melody. This arrangement in which I include both piano & organ comes as close as I can to that experience, with just two hands!

This arrangement comes from Sunday Morning Companion, Arr by Victor Labenske, found here. More details can be found on the Project Page.

Our God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne

Thy saints have dwelt secure;

Sufficient is Thine arm alone,

And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,

Or earth received her frame,

From everlasting Thou art God,

To endless years the same.

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,

“Return, ye sons of men:”

All nations rose from earth at first,

And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight

Are like an evening gone;

Short as the watch that ends the night

Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,

With all their lives and cares,

Are carried downwards by the flood,

And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,

Bears all its sons away;

They fly, forgotten, as a dream

Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand

Pleased with the morning light;

The flowers beneath the mower’s hand

Lie withering ere ‘tis night.

Our God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Be Thou our guard while troubles last,

And our eternal home.

Words: Isaac Watts, The Psalms of Da­vid, 1719.

Music: St. Anne, Will­iam Croft, 1708

I Need Thee Every Hour

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

Annie Hawks wrote:

One day as a young wife and mo­ther of 37 years of age, I was bu­sy with my reg­u­lar house­hold tasks. Sud­den­ly, I be­came so filled with the sense of near­ness to the Mast­er that, won­der­ing how one could live with­out Him, ei­ther in joy or pain, these words, “I Need Thee Ev­e­ry Hour,” were ush­ered in­to my mind, the thought at once tak­ing full pos­sess­ion of me.

After writ­ing the lyr­ics, Hawks gave them to her pas­tor, Ro­bert Low­ry, who add­ed the tune and re­frain. The hymn was first pub­lished at the Na­tion­al Bap­tist Sun­day School Con­ven­tion in Cin­cin­na­ti, Ohio, in No­vem­ber 1872. Some years lat­er, af­ter the death of her hus­band, Hawks wrote:

I did not un­der­stand at first why this hymn had touched the great throb­bing heart of hu­man­i­ty. It was not un­til long af­ter, when the sha­dow fell over my way, the sha­dow of a great loss, that I un­der­stood some­thing of the com­fort­ing pow­er in the words which I had been per­mit­ted to give out to others in my hour of sweet se­ren­i­ty and peace.

This gospel-sounding arrangement comes from Sunday Morning Companion, Arr by Victor Labenske, found here. More details can be found on the Project Page.

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;

No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

Refrain

I need Thee, O I need Thee;

Every hour I need Thee;O bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;

Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

Refrain

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;

Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.

Refrain

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;

And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

Refrain

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;

O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessèd Son.

Refrain