Lessons and Carols 2012
Opening Hymn: Once In Royal David’s City
As per tradition at Cambridge’s Lessons and Carols, this
hymn begins the service. A solo soprano chorister sings the first stanza, and
the congregation is invited to join at the second stanza. The hymn was written
by Cecil Alexander and included in her Hymns
for Little Children (1848), as an illustration of the Apostles’ Creed’s
statement on the birth of Jesus.
Carol: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
While we generally associate this hymn with Advent, Charles
Wesley wrote and included it in his Hymns
for the Nativity of Our Lord (1745). Another hymn with roots in the Hebrew
Scriptures, this one draws from Isaiah 9:6 (“For to us a child is born…”) and Haggai
2:7 (“desire of every nation”). Geoffrey Wainwright and Robin A. Leaver write,
“Christ’s redemptive and liberating rule is seen here stereoscopically in all
its stages, from prophecy through the Incarnation to present sovereignty and
final triumph; it bears individual, communal, and ultimately cosmic
dimensions.”
Carol: Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
There are two forms of this hymn; the first has twenty-three
stanzas (we won’t be singing that setting!), while the second contains six.
Based on Isaiah 11:1, the hymn originally referred to Mary as the “rose,” but
sixteenth-century reformers changed the emphasis of the hymn to Jesus.
Carol: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
The text for this hymn comes from a seven-verse poem that
dates back to the eighth century. It was used in a call and response fashion
during the vespers, or evening, service. In the original text, each of the
antiphons began with “O” followed by a biblical title for the Messiah:
“Wisdom;” “Lord;” “Root of Jesse;” “Key of David;” “Dayspring;” “King;” and
“Emmanuel.” It created the reverse acrostic “ero cras,” which means “I shall be
with you tomorrow,” which is fitting, as we look back and forward to the coming
of Christ.
Anthem: Before the Marvel of this Night
Jaroslav Vajda’s text is a primer for the angels, soon to
“break upon this deathly night.” While we often consider the experience of the
shepherds hearing the angels’ chorus, not much is said about the angels
themselves, and what commands they were given. This anthem gives voice to those
thoughts, and the great responsibility of announcing the savior’s birth (and
its meaning for the world) in a fitting manner.
Carol: Canticle of the Turning
The term “canticle” refers to a text in the Bible that was
sung. In its strictest sense, it refers to those texts that are not the Psalms.
Examples include the songs of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15:1-18 and 15:21, as
well as Mary’s Magnificat. Paul Westermeyer writes that the Magnificat is “a
revolutionary text, not appreciated by dictators. If anyone thinks biblical and
liturgical texts are tame, this one will quickly set the matter straight.” This
paraphrase of the Magnificat, written by Rory Cooney, has an edge to it not
found in many modern hymns. Cooney says he “simply wanted to write a setting of
the canticle that attempted to capture the revolutionary spirit of the gospel,
of a God who ‘pulls down the mighty from their thrones and raises up the
lowly.’” The tune, STAR OF COUNTY DOWN, is the Irish version of KINGSFOLD,
which is the setting for several hymns in The
Presbyterian Hymnal. You’ll notice that the first two lines of the tune
repeat, almost identically; the third line is new, and the fourth is same as
the first two. The refrain is exactly the same as the third and fourth lines.
Anthem: Sing, Angels, Kings, and Folk
A series of questions about the setting of Christ’s birth
throughout this piece yields answers that lead us ever closer to a wonderful
summation of our own actions when we hear the Christmas story: “Sing, angels,
kings, and folk, from town and hill your alleluias still, believe, believe, believe and let the Spirit song be fed.” Alleluia,
indeed.
Anthem: Where Shepherds Lately Knelt
Jaroslav Vajda, an American hymn writer of Slovak descent,
wrote this moving text detailing the birth of Christ as the shepherds approach
the manger. It also uses Old Testament references to the Messiah, as Jesus’
incarnation fulfills the prophecies.
Anthem: The Dream Isaiah Saw
Tom Troeger is a faculty member at Yale Divinity School and
has written multiple books of hymn texts, anthems, and poems. “Lions and Oxen
Will Sleep in the Hay” formed the basis for Glenn Rudolph’s anthem. He writes:
I began composing The Dream Isaiah Saw
near the end of July 2001 and finished it on September 30. We all know what
happened in between…When I did come back to finishing the piece, I was at once
moved by the appropriateness of the words, and struck by the irony that I would
be composing this piece at this time. The
Dream Isaiah Saw begins with a single voice paraphrasing Isaiah’s dream of
peace and harmony among God’s creation. Thomas Troeger’s poem “Lions and Oxen Will
Sleep in the Hay” is a remarkable synthesis of the ancient prophet’s vision and
the circumstances of our present-day world. This musical setting strives to
bring Troeger’s words to life, that they may take hold in our hearts and move
us toward a realization of Isaiah’s dream.
Anthem: The First Nowell
Composer Mack Wilberg has crafted a lovely setting of this
well-known hymn, and done it in a unique way: throughout the entire piece, you
never hear the full tune played in the accompaniment. The horn carries it
between verses, but only for a few bars; the choir is left to sing it with the
organ, strings, and horn supporting them. First published in 1823, the carol
has no attributed author, as is the case with many English carols and folk
songs. The tune THE FIRST NOWELL has been used with this text since 1833.
Carol: Joy to the World!
Isaac Watts wrote this hymn at the age of fifteen,
shepherding in a musical revolution in Reformed worship. Before this time,
hymns were written solely as paraphrases or word-by-word settings of biblical
texts; after Watts began writing, hymns began to appear that were composed by
humans who wished to provide new texts to old stories from scripture. LindaJo
McKim writes, “Watts believed our songs are a human offering of praise to God.
Therefore the words should be our own.” Indeed, this is why we find such texts
as “Joy to the World” and “Canticle of the Turning” used in the same service:
each serves as a means of expressing one writer’s (and, by extension, a
generation’s) faith to the next.
Carol: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Charles Wesley’s hymn has been edited many times over; the
first line from 1739 originally read, “Hark, how all the welkin (an archaic
term meaning sky or heavens) rings, Glory to the King of kings.” The text was
then altered by Wesley in 1743; the present first line comes from George
Whitefield’s A Collection of Hymns for
Social Worship, published in 1753. The tune, MENDELSSOHN, comes from a
melody written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840.
