Fourth Sunday in Advent 2014

The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him: yea, all such as call upon him faithfully.
V. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh give thanks unto his holy name.
Alleluia, alleluia
V. Come, O Lord, and tarry not: forgive the misdeeds of thy people. Alleluia

Gradual - Advent IV

Sarum Rite Anglican Missal

Today the last candle on the Advent wreath will be lit in churches around the world.  By coincidence it is also the shortest day of the year when perhaps that extra light is appreciated.

Cecil Sharp was the driving force behind a revival of interest in folk melodies of the British Isles in the early years of the 20th century.  He began collecting folk songs in 1903 on a visit to South Somerset.  He extended his search for traditional lyrics, melodies and dances into other other regions of Britain and in 1916 as far afield as the Appalachian region of the United States.

Sharp's original transcription of This is the
Truth as sung to him by Seth Vandrell (aged 70)
and Samuel Bradley (aged 71) in October 1911.

It comes as no surprise that many of the songs he collected were carols including This is the Truth Sent from Above.  Sharp collected the carol from Seth Vandrell and Samuel Bradley of Donninglon Wood in Shropshire in an eight stanza version - though in his notes he mentions that a longer version was known to exist in a local carol book.  Sharp published it in 1911 as The Shropshire Carol in his English Folk-Carols.

Inspired by Sharp's work Ralph Vaughan Williams collected folk melodies on his travels around Great Britain.  In July of 1909 during a stay at King's Pyon, Herefordshire he heard Emma Leather a local folk singer and collector sing a four stanza version with an entirely different melody which she had learned through oral tradition from a Mr Jenkins.   It was initially wrongly attributed to Jenkins when Vaughan Williams had his transcription first published in the Folk-Song Society Journal however the credit was eventually given where due.  In 1912 Vaughan Williams was to include the carol as the first melody in his Fantasia on Christmas Carols and the melody was later used by Gerald Finzi in a choral work in 1925.

Being in the oral tradition there are variations in the text but they all speak to the creation of Adam and Eve, their fall from grace and the promised redemption through Christ.   One of the more amusing variations was the omission of several verses which leads to the second verse ending "Woman was made with man to dwell", and the next verse starting "Thus we were heirs to endless woes"!

I was unable to find a version of the Sharp transcription as sung to him by Mr Vandrell and Mr Bradley as it seems that the Vaughan Williams version is the more popular.  This lovely version is by the Salisbury Cathedral Choir.

This is the truth sent from above,
The truth of God, the God of love:
Therefore don’t turn me from your door,
But hearken all, both rich and poor.

The first thing which I do relate
Is that God did man create,
The next thing which to you I’ll tell,
Woman was made with man to dwell.

Then, after this, ’twas God’s own choice
To place them both in Paradise,
There to remain, from evil free,
Except they ate of such a tree.

But they did eat, which was a sin,
And thus their ruin did begin.
Ruined themselves, both you and me,
And all of their posterity.

Thus we were heirs to endless woes,
Till God the Lord did interpose,
And so a promise soon did run,
That he would redeem us by his Son.

For some reason many versions omit the last verse which seems to me to set it in the carol rather than liturgical mode:

God grant to all within this place
True saving faith, that special grace
Which to his people doth belong:
And thus I close my Christmas song.

And I find it a fitting wish as the season as Advent draws to a close.

December 21 - 1844: The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers commences business in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement.

Third Sunday in Advent 2014

Say to them that are of a fearful heart:  Be strong, fear not: behold your God will come and save you.

Communion Sentence - Advent III

Sarum Rite Anglican Missal

There are so many wonderful songs for Advent and Christmastide that take us beyond what for most of us are our traditional carols.  I was fortunate growing up to be introduced to many Polish carols as well as traditions by the Michalskis who lived next door to my family and were my best friends.  This may well have been the door that opened up a world for me which went beyond my Anglo-Saxon roots. 

Through the years I've been introduced to Christmastide music and customs that are as varied and wonderful as the place where I experienced them.   And it seems in the last twenty years that Christmas music has expanded beyond the traditional to include carols from all eras and many cultures.

The traditions and music of the Basque region are generally unknown to the world at large but one regional carol has become a favourite over the past few years.   Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen recounts the story of the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel to Mary of her role as chosen vessel for the birth of Christ.  The original melody was dance-like as performed here by Aquabella.

In 1897 on a commission from the French Government the French musicologist, teacher and composer Charles Bordes collected and published Les Archives de la tradition basque.  It came to the attention of Sabine Baring-Gould one of the most fascinating men in Victorian-Edwardian England.  Baring-Gould was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar.  He wrote over 1240 publications - ghost stories, novels, biographies, hymns (Onward Christian Soldiers is only one of his many), collections of folk stories and, what he considered his greatest achievement, collections of folks songs.  He made alterations in some of the lyrics which he considered too risqué for the time but left his notes behind for those who in the future might wish to study the original texts.  He translate much of Bordes' collection, the most widely known being Birjina gaztetto bat zegoe.

It does not appear that the carol achieved any great popularity in the early 1900s but over the past few decades has become a choral staple at Christmastide.  There have been many settings though few have preserved it's dancing metre.   Of the many videos available I found this simple version by the Crimson Ensemble the most folk like.

The Wikipedia entry on Baring-Gould makes for a fascinating read - the man was a true polymath, a ture genius and a fascinating character besides.   And he opened the door that gave us this beautiful Advent carol.

My blog buddy Debra and I had the same thought and she has posted a lovely version of this carol on She Who Seeks.

December 14 - 1896: The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company.

Second Sunday in Advent 2014

O people of Sion, behold the Lord is nigh at hand to redeem the nations: and in the gladness of your heart the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard.

Ps. Hear, O though Shepherd of Israel: thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.

Introit - Advent II

Sarem Rite Anglican Missal

One of the advantages of working shift work those many years ago at Air Canada was that it gave me the opportunity to listen to Off the Record, a Monday to Friday early afternoon staple on the CBC.  I have often spoken of how host Bob Kerr introduced me - and thousands of others - to music from his enormous and very catholic collection of recordings.  So much of what I came to discover and enjoy in music was because of  his eclectic and encyclopedic taste.  And at no time were those discoveries more enjoyable than in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  Bob would play everything from Medieval to Mady Prior to Meissen and a world beyond Adeste Fideles was revealed.

One particular favourite became Sing We Noel - Christmas Music from England & Early America by the Boston Camerata.  This rather eclectic mixture of music jumped back and forth across the Atlantic mixing Medieval with American folk interspersed with readings in Old and Middle English.  One of my favourite tracks was The Midnight Cry, a Southern American shape-note hymn.

Though the Parable of the Ten Virgins (see below) only appears in one of the gospels it was a favourite subject in the Middle Ages and strongly influenced Gothic art and architecture.  It's message was clear: the call to judgement could come at any time, you must be always ready.  It was a warning that appealed to many of the Evangelical sects and became a popular subject for sermon and song in the Protestant church. 

The shape-note tradition was to find it's genesis when the first edition of The Sacred Harp appeared in 1844.  Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha King gathered, transcribed and arranged hymns and songs of worship of the American south and published some 250 pieces - proudly announcing that it included "nearly 100 pieces never before published" - in the first edition.  It was to undergo many revisions and became the standard music book for many churches until well into the early 20th century.

The Midnight Cry appeared in that first edition, and every subsequent revision.  Other than the fact that the tune was first published in the Southern Harmony Hymnal in 1835 and the words a year earlier in the Baptist Harmony Hymnal little information is available concerning its origins.  In the Denson revision of 1911 the writer notes: None of the books we can get hold of give the name of the author of this music. It is an old tune and has been in use for 100 years. The original text had ten verses including some rather stern admonitions to the unprepared and a rather frightening description of their impending fate.   White and King reduced it to six verses and it is this version that the Boston Camerata recorded.

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Matthew 25:1-13

KJV

Though the tale is a cautionary one I have always questioned the attitude of the Wise Virgins. After all one would think that Christian charity would have extended to sharing their lamp oil. However that is a theological discussion for another day.

December 7 - 1965: Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I simultaneously revoke mutual excommunications that had been in place since 1054.

Advent 2014

Grant unto us, O Lord, we beseech thee: so to wait for thy loving-kindness in the midst of thy temple; that in readiness of heart and mind we may hail the coming feast of our redemption.

Post-Communion Prayer - Advent I

Saram Rite Anglican Missal

Today is the First Sunday in Advent, that period when in many Christian church preparations are made spiritually for the coming Christmastide.  A minor penitential period, it is meant as a time of reflection and mediation - and also as a build up to the second greatest feast of the Christian calendar.  The readings, introits, graduals, prayers and hymns all point to the coming birth and the redemptive nature of that birth.  I have written in the past about both the religious tradition of the Advent Wreath and the more secular Advent Calendar that are connected with the season of Adventtide.

Once again I'm lighting my virtual Advent Wreath and as I did last year including an Advent Carol to mark the day.  In other posts I have spoken of the tendency to think of carols as being a Christmastide form but they were originally intended for use outside the church - in processions or even dances to celebrate the various joyous feasts of the Church calendar. 

Given that so many of the Christian Advent traditions stem from the Lutheran church it is seems appropriate to begin the season with an old Lutheran carol.

A memorial to Frans Michael Franzén,
poet and clergyman, in his hometown of
Oulu, Finland.  

Set to an old Swedish folk melody that dates circa 1560, Prepare the Royal Highway (Bereden väg för Herran) was written by Frans Michael Franzén, a Swedish-Finnish Lutheran clergyman, teacher and poet.  A member of the Swedish Academy and one time Bishop of Härnösand, he provided the lyrics for some twenty or more hymns in the Swedish Lutheran hymn book.

The tune  first appeared in Swenska Psalmboken a hymnal published in Stockholm in 1697; Franzén's lyrics were added in the 1812 edition.  It became a favourite and has appeared in almost every Lutheran hymn book since.  It appears that the original 6/8 meter was considered too secular at one point and it was changed to 4/4 in many Lutheran publications, including as I understand it, the Lutheran Service Book published in 2006*.  Fortunately more recent practice - including this arrangement with a tambourine by Timothy Shaw - has returned it to its joyful dance-like origins - more befitting of a true carol.

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As well as the wreath and carols a tradition of my virtual observance of the season for the past seven years has been to open a window on my friend Larry's Advent Calendar.  In previous years he has revealed the often hidden sights of Rome, his adopted city - doors, windows, fountains, angels.  This year he's opening the stable door, as it where.  A left click on the picture below will take your directly to his Advent Calendar for 2014.

I'll be posting a link on my sidebar so that should you wish you may join me in opening another window each day leading up to December 25th.

The design for my Advent wreath was adapted from an icon on the website of the Convent van Betlehem in the Netherlands.  The sisters have been a presence in Duffel since they took refuge there during the religious wars in the 1600s.  Unfortunately I've not been able to find out much about the order in English but their history looks to be a fascinating one and I must try and do some research at a later date.

November 30 - 1786: The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under Pietro Leopoldo I, becomes the first modern state to abolish the death penalty (later commemorated as Cities for Life Day).

A Carol for Christmas IV - Advent

As we sat at our cappuccino frappes in the trendy café at the Colonnade on Bloor St back in the early 70s my friend John peered over his black forest cake – keep in mind it was the 70s – and demanded to know why they were playing Christmas carols when it was only December 15^th. He summoned a rather perplexed waiter and asked for an explanation as to why we were not hearing Advent carols. The poor waiter, and I must admit I until that time, had never heard of Advent carols. But as I quickly found out carols were meant for any festive occasion and though it was a minor penitential season in the church calendar indeed carols had been written to be sung in sacred and secular settings.

I was first introduced to the Advent carol "Lo He Comes With Clouds Descending" on a recording by Maddy Prior that Bob Kerr often played on the lead up to Christmas. In her rendition Maddy follows John Wesley’s admonition to “sing lustily and with great courage” and brought out the dance-like qualities of the melody. There seems to be some discussion as to the origins of Helmsley, the most popular - and possibly original - tune setting with some suggestion it may have come from a folk opera written by Michael Arne and subsequently arranged by either Thomas Oliver or Martin Madan.  Madan was definitely the author of a revised version of the original text.  Written in 1752 John Cennick's text  had  distinct anti-Semitic overtones and was Evangelical fire and brimstone at its best.  Six years Charles Wesley adapted it and gave it a more hopeful and finally exultant mode. Then  in 1760  Madan made further refinements to the lyrics to bring us to the version most often heard today.  It is also possible at that time that he arranged the music as we most commonly know it.


I had hoped to find Maddy's very individual jig-like rendition on video but failing that there is a beautiful version by the Lichfield Cathedral Choir.  Lichfield is one of the cathedrals in England that is not often on the tourist path which is a shame as these picture reveal that it would be well worth the visit.  I believe the descant arrangement on the final verse is by Ralph Vaughn Williams.

I was reminded of this carol last Sunday when we attended a concert by the choirs of the Basilica of Notre Dame here in Ottawa. I'm sure its Wesleyan authors would have been astounded to hear it sung in a Roman Catholic church. And sung "Lustily and with great courage".

22 dicembre/December - San Demitrio