#FiveFavorites: Yes, More Music

Head on over to Moxie Wife and link up and see other people's five favorites,
or share five of your favorites (ANY favorites) here!

So last week I did a post about all my favorite things to do for Advent. And I shamelessly suggested you read my other blog to learn more Advent and Christmas Carols. (...and you DID! Thank you!)

For the #10Hymns project I've been sifting through hundreds of YouTube Videos, sorting the good and the bad, and ultimately picking out the ones I need. But what I need for teaching other people these pieces of music isn't always what strikes me as beautiful.

So for today's Five Favorites, I'm sharing my five favorite Advent YouTube Videos. Some are professionals, and some are just adorable.

1. Alma Redemptoris Mater - Palestrina

Performed by Quire Cleveland, conducted by Jameson Marvin

Instead of the Salve Regina at the end of Compline, during Advent, we sing this beautiful hymn to the Blessed Mother:

Loving Mother of the Redeemer,
gate of heaven, star of the sea,
assist your people who have fallen
yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature
 you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before.
You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting,
have pity on us poor sinners.

2. The Rose of Sharon - Billings

Performed by Dordt College Choir, conducted by David McWilliams

This lovely little piece is taken right from the Song of Songs and prefigures the coming of the Savior. Billings was a tanner in Boston at around the time of the American Revolution who wrote music as a hobby. His pieces are vibrant and full of moving parts and traded voices. There's not a lot of subtlety to it. It's either loud or soft. But note the vivid tone painting of the music in consort with the words at the "skipping" part. It's a real blast to sing Billings. 

I am the Rose of Sharon
and the lily of the valley.
As the Appletree,
among the trees of the wood,
so is my Beloved among the Sons.
As the Lily among the thorns,
so is my Love among the Daughters.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight,
And his fruit was sweet to my taste, taste.
He brought me to the Banqueting House,
His Banner over me was Love.
Stay me with Flagons,
Comfort me with Apples,
for I am sick, sick of Love.
I charge you, O ye Daughters of Jerusalem,
by the Roes and by the Hinds of the Field,
that you stir not up nor Awake,
Awake my Love till he please.
The voice of my Beloved,
Behold, he cometh,
Leaping upon the mountains,
skipping upon the Hills.
My Beloved spake and said unto me: rise up,
my Love, my fair one, and come away,
for Lo, the Winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.

3. Maria durch ein Dornwald ging
Performed by the Thomanerchor, Leipzig Germany, 1989

I had the pleasure of standing in this very church in 2006. The Thomaskirche is the Lutheran Church in Leipzig that put J.S. Bach on the map. A couple of hundred years later Felix Mendelssohn converted to Christianity while rehearsing Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the Thomanerchor which is the choir in the video.

"Maria durch ein Dornwald ging" is an Advent carol in honor of the sacrifice that Mary made to carry our Savior.  The repeated corruption of the Greek "Kyrie Eleison" (Lord have mercy) is a reminder of our need for mercy and the humility of both Mary and Jesus, in their suffering.
In the end, as Mary and Jesus pass together through the thorns, roses suddenly appear on the branches, signifying the coming of new life. 

Maria walks amid the thorn,
Kyrieleison!
Which for seven years no leaf hath born
She walks amid the wood of thorn
Jesus and Maria.

What ‘neath her heart does Mary bear?
Kyrieleison!
A little child doth Mary bear
Beneath her heart he nestles there.
Jesus and Maria.

And as the two are passing near
Kyrieleison!
Lo! Roses on the thorns appear!
Jesus and Maria.

4. The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns

Performed by The Christ Lutheran Academy Choir, conducted by Kathryn Peperkorn

Sweet kids! And they can sing, folks.

5. Lasst uns Froh und Munter Sein

Performed by the Columbus Kinderchor

Well, this is just a cute little song for Sankt Nikolaus Tag (St. Nicholas Day) which is coming up on Friday, December 6th.

In this song the kids are talking all about how excited they are that it's St. Nicholas Day. 

 The littlest one was three in this video. He was told to hold the note until I cut it off, but I forgot to cut him off with a big enough motion so he just kept singing. At one point you can hear the choir (and the conductor) start to giggle.

I became the Director Emerita this year but I still...nothing says Holiday like cute little kids singing in German. (Or maybe that's just me...) 

(A Literal Translation)
Let us be happy and cheerful
And rejoice in the Lord! (Chorus) 

Chorus:
Jolly, jolly, tralera-lera,
Soon Nicholas Eve is here!
Soon Nicholas Eve is here!

Then I put the plate out
Nick'll surely put somethin' on it. (Chorus)

When I sleep then I dream:
Now Nicholas brings me something. (Chorus)

When I rise (in the morning)
I dash quickly to the plate. (Chorus)

Nicholas is a good man
Whom we can't thank enough. (Chorus)

Other Places: #10Hymns: Advent Hymns

Over at The Beautiful Music Challenge, I am continuing my #10Hymns Series with another two hymns for Advent (with an extra bonus hymn thrown in for fun!)

Of course, as a choir director, I have to say, I've been practicing Christmas Carols since October and I've been listening to them all year. That's just how it works when you direct a choir.

In my opinion, it is never the "wrong" time to meditate on the Incarnation of Jesus or to anticipate his coming again in glory. But I could be wrong...

During Advent, we meditate upon the three ways that Jesus comes to us:
In History (in His Birth at Bethlehem)
In Mystery (in the Sacraments)
In Majesty (at the Final Judgment)

This week we're going to talk about all three...

This week we're covering "O Savior Rend the Heavens Wide," "Behold a Virgin Bearing Him" and "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence". Find out where these hymns came from and learn how to sing them here.

#FiveFavorites - Five Things for Advent

Advent is almost here and until I was sidelined today by a sinus and ear infection, I hadn't put much thought into what I was going to do to keep the season (other than write a huge series on music for Advent and Christmas - more later). So, today, I hopped on Pinterest and found some things that got me thinking about preparation. Not just of the home, but of the heart, too.

1.  The Advent Wreath

Last year, I had to improvise my Advent wreath. This year, is no different. My Christmas and Advent decorations are still locked in a storage shed in a neighboring county. And although I could go get them, I'd be hard-pressed to find them. So, again - I am improvising.

But, this year, I have the power of Pinterest so I found lots of cool ideas for making my Advent wreath even more cool. Here's the front runner, so far:

Created with moss wrapped around a lampshade skeleton with a wire wreath anchored to the top, this is by far the glitzy-est Advent wreath I've ever seen. It'd be really nifty to use with the Jesse Tree Tradition....

2. A Jesse Tree

When I was a kid, we did the Jesse Tree. Each day of the month of December, leading up to Christmas Day has an Old testament story and a symbol connected with it. These stories trace the lineage and "types" of Jesus. There are books that you can get to help you design your meditations. The little chart above is one that I found on Pinterest and, although it doesn;t give all the bible verses and stories of each character, you get a pretty good idea of what the plan is.

I always thought it was a cool way to trace Salvation History and the Messianic prophecies through the Jewish people to Jesus. It gave me a sense of the connectedness of God's promises to us that He would save us from our sins. Sadly, it is not a tradition that I carried on with my own children. But the Advent Wreath above gave me some ideas about combining the two observances.

3. The Advent Family Activity Calendar 

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has put out a resource calendar for families who want to give back to the community and deepen their faith during the Advent season. This calendar includes an activity for each day of Advent and a companion calendar takes you through the Christmas Season.  With reflections on the scripture as well as suggestions for works of mercy on each, you can get your family fully involved in making room for Jesus. 

You can find both calendars here.

4. Do Some Extra Devotional Prayer

Seriously, there are SO many good Advent books out, but I'll suggest the two that my friends at CatholicMom.com are giving away this week: Lisa Hendey's "O Radiant Dawn" and Sarah Reinhard's "Welcome, Baby Jesus".  

These ladies are wonderful writers and have crafted family-friendly, easy to use resources to help you and your family spend just a few minutes in prayer together through this busy month.  

Click here to go to CatholicMom.com to enter!

I also highly recommend the Magnificat Advent Companion. You can get it in print, on your Kindle or as an app in the iTunes Store. I reviewed the app last year, and plan to buy it again this year. It's easy to use and handy to carry around on your phone or device.

5. Learn Some New Songs

Fr. Dwight Longenecker had a "mega-post" today titled "10 Reasons Why Catholics Should Sing Good Hymns". Fr. Longenecker walks through 10 reasons (as the title suggests) why hymns are crucial to the spiritual life. And not just any hymns, but good ones. He not only explains what constitutes a good hymn, but offers suggestions and provides videos of good examples.

And over at The Beautiful Music Challenge last week I rolled out "10 Hymns You Should Know: Advent and Christmas Hymns." Over the next five weeks we'll be exploring ten hymns and carols for Advent and Christmas: where they came from, what they mean and how to sing them. At the end of Advent, you be all set to sing carols at Mass or at home for all of the 12 Days of Christmas. If you would like to join the fun, you can link up here. But, honestly, we need a better example of "O Come, Divine Messiah". If you have one (that I am legally allowed to use!) send it on over!

Below is a version of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" in Latin by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly. This is one of my favorite pieces for Advent, but sadly, it's been so long since I've gotten to sing it that I have forgotten many of the tricky parts that make it awesome. I sight read it a few weeks ago and it was a very humbling experience.  Take a listen.

The Advent of Advent!

My son and daughter at St. Mary Church, German Village
with one of my favorite Advent Wreaths.

I have to admit, I love Advent. I love the restrained joy of preparation for the coming of Jesus. I love the music and I love the spirit of the season.

No really. I do!

There is something about Advent that gets me thinking about the joy of the Unexpected. The Birth of the Messiah was a gift that was expected. Oh yes! But the presentation wasn't quite the way it had been envisioned. There were Angels singing. There was that amazing Star of Bethlehem. But then there were those smelly shepherds, too. And a manger? I can just see First Century Martha Stewart-ish types thinking, "Surely we could have done better..."

But, isn't that always the way, though: We all have a vision for our Christmases and they are never quite what we imagine that they will be. I have found, that if I relax and let God take the lead, Christmas always turns out for the best. That's because God knows me, and He knows just precisely what I need. No matter how much planning I put in or how much control I assume on myself, there is always a glitch. But it's there for a reason. God is always making the crooked straight. I think that's what Advent is all about: Letting God make the crooked ways straight so Jesus has a place to dwell when he comes to us.

So, to prepare for Advent I've got a couple of things cooking:

Over at "The Beautiful Music Challenge" today, I am continuing my series "10 Hymns You Should Know" with two Advent Hymns to get ready for the beginning of the Advent Season this Sunday. Join in the fun with your family. Music is a great way to teach about the real Gift of Christmas!

And, over at CatholicMom.com, they're hosting an Advent Wreath Link-up starting on December 9th. Read all about it here and then get ready to join in the fun. Last year, my Advent Wreath was in deep storage and I had to improvise a little. But it was so much fun, I think I'm going to get creative again. I'll be hitting Pinterest for ideas later on!