Oh Holy Night

Our systems are down at work, so I thought I'd take the time to post a little something. I love Christmas music. It's all so cheerful and full of fun lyrics and beautiful chords. But one of my all time favorite Christmas songs is "Oh Holy Night." I just love the picture it portrays of a quiet still winter night when Christ was born. It describes the mission and love that Christ had and the love we have for him because if it. It's a song of hope, cheer and rejoicing for the birth and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It's such a beautiful, reverent song. I love this song so much, in fact, that I have a CD that I made with different artists singing the song. 12 tracks of Oh Holy Nightness. It's awesome.

Amy and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert on Friday night (Thanks Mom and Dad Hansen for inviting us!). I'd never been to the concert, but knew it would be an amazing experience. The music of the Tabernacle Choir is amazing and so heavenly. It's no wonder they are world known. The Tabernacle Choir has always had special meaning to me and my family because of my grandfather's love of the choir (My mom's dad.)

My grandfather was orphaned when he was young and living in Kentucky. While in the orphanage, each child would get the chance to pick a radio program to listen to in the evenings. When it was my grandfather's turn, he always picked the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Even though he wasn't a member of the Church, he loved the music and would tell the other orphans that one day he would go to Salt Lake and see them in person. Even though the other kids made fun of him for such an outrageous statement, he insisted that he would.

When my grandfather was 17, he joined the air force to get out of the orphanage. He traveled to Europe and fought in World War II. At one point he was stationed in Utah and finally got the chance to see the Tabernacle Choir in person. A childhood dream fulfilled. He later met my grandmother in Utah, they were married and he was baptized into the Church. It's an amazing story and I've always thought of it when I hear the Tabernacle Choir sing.

Imagine how my excitment doubled when during the Christmas concert sang my most favorite Christmas song! It was a slightly different arrangement, but it was beautiful. Sent chills through me.



Here is the choir singing it at the Christmas devotional. Just amazing.

The concert also had a part where David McCullough narrated the story behind the song "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem." I think it's so interesting to know the story behind songs, so I looked up the story behind my favorite Christmas song.

The accounts I found say it is adapted from a French hymn "Minuit, Chrétiens" which was written in 1847 by poet Placide Cappeau as comission for his local parish priest. Cappeau was on his way to Paris when he wrote it and gave the poem to well known ballet and opera composer Adolphe Adam. The song was translated into English in 1855 by Sullivan Dwight, a Unitarian minister and American music critic. Apparently there was a lot of controversy over the hymm because of it's anti-slavery lyrics:

"Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease."

It's an amazing song and has an amazing message. I love it!

-Zach