St. Ambrose - Veni Redemptor Genitum

This is the oldest Christmas Carol that we know of. 

St. Ambrose is often described as one of the four Latin Doctors of the Church*, influential theologians who established the foundations of the church in the fourth century.  Unlike his compatriot Doctors, Ambrose was a most unusual saint.  He was the Roman governor of the province around Milan when he (kind of accidentally) became bishop of Milan.  He was quite popular as Governor and when the crowd was beginning to get rowdy debating who would become the next bishop, someone called out his name as a suggestion.  Suddenly it was a done deal.

Except there was this little problem: not only was Ambrose not a priest, he wasn't even baptized as a Christian.  The crowd wasn't about to let minor issues like that stand between them and their new bishop.  So Governor Aurelius Ambrosius became Bishop Ambrose.

He was a force to be reckoned with, even excommunicating Emperor Theodosius the Great (I think that this was the first time this had ever happened).

He also composed the first Christmas Carol, Veni Redemptor Genitum (Come, Redeemer of the Nations).  It is still performed today, 1650 years later.

Latin:

Veni, redemptor gentium;
ostende partum Virginis;
miretur omne saeculum:
talis decet partus Deum. 

English translation:
Come, Redeemer of the nations;
show forth the Virgin birth;
let every age marvel:
such a birth befits God.

Now the Christmas season is upon us.  It seemed right to start our annual christmas music posts with the very first Christmas carol.

* The others are St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and St. Gregory the Great.  It was sort of a Murderer's Row lineup of the early Church batting order.

Alan Jackson - Let It Be Christmas

 

Joe Bonamassa - Christmas Boogie

Now that it's after Thanksgiving, it's officially Christmas music season.  Well, here at least.

Merry Christmas

God bless us, every one. 

J. S. Bach - Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring

It's Christmas Eve, which calls for the best of traditional Christmas music.  You don't get much more traditional than this.

José Feliciano - Feliz Navidad

Michael Buble's version is great, but nothing beats the original.

Michael Bublé - Blue Christmas

The stockings are now up, but there are only two.  Wolfgang had a stocking with two feet (he had twice as many feet as we do, right?).  He sure loved Christmas, knowing he was going to get Puppy Loot.

Now we just have memories.  I sure miss you, buddy.

Here's a picture of his stocking last year:

 

Joe Bonamassa - Christmas Boogie

It's been almost a month since I posted any Blues.  Fixing that now.

Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops Orchestra, Pops Christmas Party 1959

The mid-20th Century was the high point of the much appreciated and much lamented in its passing "Mid-Brow"* culture: a set of societal expectations that a properly educated man or woman should know certain (respectable) things and behave in certain (respectable) ways.  One of these things that people were expected to know was classical music.  There were two great popularizers of mid-brow music: Leonard Bernstein, and Arthur Fiedler.

Bernstein was a musical genius, who wrote fabulous music.  "West Side Story" is perhaps most famous, but "Candide" is perhaps his greatest composition.  Of course he was a dirty commie bastard, but there's no denying his influence on the Mid-Brow public.

Arthur Fiedler was the long time conductor of the Boston Symphony and (more famously) the Boston Pops which became perhaps the most famous Mid-Brow orchestra ever.  Fiedler joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1915 (!) and graduated to cunductor in 1930.  He remained conductor of the Symphony and the Pops for the next half century.

His career was the apogee of Mid-Brow culture in America.  All 3 networks plus PBS covered the July 4, 1976 Pops concert from Boston live.  All of them.  After all, people were expected to behave in particular (respectable) ways.

Alas for the America of my youth.  Here's a delightful musical album of the 1959 Boston Pops Christmas.  Sadly, Youtube tells me that this has only 173 views.  Alas for the America of my youth, indeed.

* Not the hoity-toity High Brow set, and certainly not the Low Brow set.  Mid-Brow, the sweet spot.

Nat King Cole - Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire

A classic from the Master.

Tony Bennett - My Favorite Things

Thanks for all the great music, Tony.  Rest in peace.

Mike Rowe, John Rich, and The Oak Ridge Boys - Santa Claus Has A Dirty Job

Proceeds from this song go to Folds Of Honor (scholarships for military and first responder's kids) and the Mike Rowe Works Foundation.  Bravo, gentlemen.

If you don't like this, I'm afraid we can't be friends anymore.

Alan Jackson - Let There Be Christmas

This is a Country song for people who don't like Country Music.  Alan Jackson wrote this, and he's about as Country as anyone - but this is essentially a traditional Christmas song that Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole could have recorded if they had lived to 2002.  No slide guitars or banjos, just traditional sentimentality.

I like this song a lot, but you know how sentimental I am.  And I'm not the only one - not only did this reach #6 on the Country chart, it also reached #27 on Billboard's 200.

Let It Be Christmas (Songwriter: Alan Jackson):

Let it be Christmas everywhere
In the hearts of all people
Both near and afar
Christmas everywhere
Feel the love of the season where ever you are
On the small country roads
Lined with green mistletoe
Big city streets where a thousand lights glow

Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing
Let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas, Christmas everywhere

Let it be Christmas everywhere
With the gold and the silver, the green and the red
Christmas everywhere
In the smiles of all children asleep in their beds
In the eyes of young babies
Their first fallen snow
The elderly's memories that never grow old
Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing
Let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas, Christmas everywhere

Let it be Christmas everywhere
In the songs that we sing
And the gifts that we bring
Christmas everywhere
In what this day means
And what we believe
From the sandy white beaches
Where blue water rolls
Snow covered mountains and valleys below

Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing
Let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas, Christmas everywhere
Christmas everywhere
Christmas everywhere

 

Tommee Profitt - Carol of the Bells

 

Vince Guaraldi Trio - Peanuts Christmas Special

 

Lightnin' Hopkins - Santa

He considered this one of his greatest hits.

The Piano Guys - I saw Three Ships

This was filmed in a neighborhood where two adjacent houses do annual musical light shows at Christmas.  They agreed to be part of this video which is nothing short of wonderful.

Pentatonix - Where are you, Christmas?

The kids are all right. Yes. they're young (hey, they're kids, right?). Yes, they have weird hair - just like you (and I) did when you were their age. It's designed to annoy their elders, just like you (and I) did when you were 18. But these kids have some serious musical chops. 

There's a lot of discipline that goes into A Capella and they do it very well indeed.

Alison Krauss and Yo-Yo Ma - The Wexford Carol

Alison Krauss is a national treasure.  So is Yo-Yo Ma.  This song is magical.

The first Christmas Carol

St. Ambrose is often described as one of the four Latin Doctors of the Church*, influential theologians who established the foundations of the church in the fourth century.  Unlike his compatriot Doctors, Ambrose was a most unusual saint.  He was the Roman governor of the province around Milan when he (kind of accidentally) became bishop of Milan.  He was quite popular as Governor and when the crowd was beginning to get rowdy debating who would become the next bishop, someone called out his name as a suggestion.  Suddenly it was a done deal

Except there was this little problem: not only was Ambrose not a priest, he wasn't even baptized as a Christian.  The crowd wasn't about to let minor issues like that stand between them and their new bishop.  So Governor Aurelius Ambrosius became Bishop Ambrose.

He was a force to be reckoned with, even excommunicating Emperor Theodosius the Great (I think that this was the first time this had ever happened).

He also composed the first Christmas Carol, Veni Redemptor Genitum (Come, Redeemer of the Nations).  It is still performed today, 1650 years later.

 

Latin:

Veni, redemptor gentium;
ostende partum Virginis;
miretur omne saeculum:
talis decet partus Deum. 

English translation:
Come, Redeemer of the nations;
show forth the Virgin birth;
let every age marvel:
such a birth befits God.

Now the Christmas season is upon us.  It seemed right to start our annual christmas music posts with the very first Christmas carol.

* The others are St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and St. Gregory the Great.  It was sort of a Murderer's Row lineup of the early Church batting order.