December 11, 2011

10:55 Gathering Song: Beautiful Star of Bethlehem

John Jacob Niles

“Beautiful Star of Bethlehem” is an Appalachian folk carol that is highly representative of the genre. Most traditional music from this culture is based on folk ballads and instrumental dance tunes. The ballads were almost always sung a cappella (unaccompanied) by women, as they were responsible to preserve the heritage of their families’ culture. John Jacob Niles is largely responsible for reviving the American folk music heritage in the 1950s and 1960s, having collected ballads for much of his life. The University of Kentucky holds his collection at the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music.

Hymn: Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

Written by Charles Wesley, this hymn first appeared in three stanzas under the title “Morning Hymn.” Paul Westermeyer notes that the hymn, “as Charles Wesley wrote it is a Christological statement developed by images of light,” and as is true with many of Charles Wesley’s hymns, it is full of scriptural references. The images of light include verses from Luke 1:78-79, “the day shall dawn upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness,” and Revelation 22:16, the “bright morning star.”

Hymn: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

The past several weeks we have focused on the origin of this hymn text, as each stanza focuses on a different description of the Messiah. This week, we turn our attention to the tune, which finds its roots in a French Franciscan nunnery, where it was employed as a processional hymn during a funeral mass.

Hymn: Canticle of the Turning

Rory Cooney

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.