Christmas carols to weep over, really?

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
Now I'm a tough old chap and things don't make me teary easily but I just listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (with orchestra and that wonderful organ) sing Away in a Manger and I wept ... it was just sooooo beautiful. The concert (which was on TV here) was called "Christmas Light". Amazing singing, so soft and gentle, such beautiful ensemble.
 

rojo

(Ret)
I hear you, Ct64 (if I may call you that); there are a few Christmas songs that get to me. I think I actually may have caught part of that same concert on tv today; I know it was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, anyway. What little I heard was indeed lovely, and I understand completely. Music can wreak havoc with our emotions...
 

methodistgirl

New member
I know what you are saying. I cry everytime I hear Silent night or
O holy night. The messege is so clear in those songs.
judy tooley
:bawl:
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
O Holy Night does me in, especially this year when my son played this on Christmas eve on alto sax accompanied by me on organ during Holy Communion.

Another is Away In A Manger, of which I do my own arrangement (it's memorized - have yet to write it out).

Silent Night we do on Christmas Eve by candlelight - I'm playing in total darkness btw, and to look out across the congregation holding their lit candles while singing this hymn just takes my breath away.
 

janny108

New member
I hear you, Ct64 (if I may call you that); there are a few Christmas songs that get to me. I think I actually may have caught part of that same concert on tv today; I know it was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, anyway. What little I heard was indeed lovely, and I understand completely. Music can wreak havoc with our emotions...


The Mormon Tabernacle choir does "Ave Verum Corpus"(I think it's corpus) does it beautifully. It's by Mozart.

Jan
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Ahah ... the Mormon Tab choir does everything splendidly ... heard them live in 2003 at the Inaugural Concert for the new Conference Center Organ (5th row from front, dead center) and their rendition of "Till' we meet again" certainly was a moving experience for me.
 

Gedackt

New member
Gentlemen, may I highlight this little gem? A beautiful rendition of "Silent night" by Jason D. Payne, played by Marko Hakanpää. His choice of stops, a beautiful Quintadena first, and Bells after, is definitely fitting. No dry eyes at the throughout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ioa1Af7Srj8
 
Last edited:

John Watt

Member
When I was living in Welland, Ontario, close to Niagara Falls, many years ago,
I was invited to the one St. Catharines church of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
because they had installed a big screen and were showing a "Mormon Tabernacle Choir" broadcast.
It was only attended by male members, all Priests, if you accept their definition.
Once they got going, and I was familiar with the songs, I started singing out loud, singing along.
A few faces turned to look, but no-one looked upset, and no-one said to stop,
so I just kept on singing along, having a really good time.

I feel sorry for Mormon missionaries who can't leave their "stake",
the area where they are sent to spread the word from Utah.
Right over the border here, at Fort Erie, south of Buffalo, is Palmyra,
not only the home of Joseph Smith Jr., but also where he found the plates,
that after his translation became the Book of Mormon.
Missionaries who never will get this close again, after returning to their country or American state,
will be able to witness the incredible pageantry and technology of this stage show,
and the attractions built around it.
The stage, built up the side of the Hill Gomorrah, sometimes has over 4,000 actors on it,
so it truly looks like a small city in front of you.
The high wires that lift Jesus of Nazareth up into the night sky, as He ascends,
really looks real, a huge effect, something you'll never see indoors.
The sensurround, quadraphonic sound system replicates the shaking of the earth.
People who aren't even church members can attend this event as a missionary tool,
or just a great show, on every night for a week.
Imagine sitting outside, in a valley, looking up a hill, daylight turning into a night sky,
and seeing history portrayed in a human scale.
When, as the show was winding down and people were starting to leave,
the voice of Moroni was heard, calling the people of the Americas, of our times,
hypocrites and polluters, with hypocrites being a reference to needing needles to be healthy.
I almost cried.
 

John Watt

Member
Now that a "sensible Christmas" seems to be spreading around the Niagara Peninsula,
it's time to start updating Christmas carols, but it's not Christmas any more.
However, renters the world over should relate to this sailor's song,
now land-based.

"What do you do with a drunken landlord, what do you do with a drunken landlord,
what do you do with a drunken landlord, early in the morning?"
 
Top