Christmas Carols

[oopsorganist]

Just got my L. Planner, hooray,

But alas, at Christmas I know that in our parish we will sing
1 Come Come Come to the Manger
2 Away in a Manger
3 Silent Night
4 O Come ALL Ye Faithful

not just for the evening Mass but at every service.

I am just a bit bored. The three of us who practise together weekly have learned lots of good stuff for Advent but I find myself putting up the numbers for the two Advent hymns which the congregation will respond to. O Come O Come Emmanuel and On Jordan's Banks the Baptist's Cry. I hate the latter.

We have practiced Farrell's Christ Be Our Light, Across the Years there Echoes and Wait for the Lord, His Day is Near (Taize), and Enter in the Wilderness the Lord is Coming but we will not be singing any of this because there are not enough of us to sing them out and lead new material. I am so sad because it has been really great finding beautiful and meaningful songs which fit the liturgy but we just dare not use them.

So I do not think it will be a good use of our time to try to use the material I see in the Liturgy Planner or at the back of the hymnals which we use. I would love to do the Russian Kyrie and the Salazaar Gloria and OF the Father's Love Begotten on Christmas Day, just for a blooming change!

Trouble with getting to know Farrell, Walker, Inwood....... you just think WOW but then feel frustrated at not being able to use it.

Anyone else stuck with carols for the Christmas Services? We hear enough of them in the supermarket!

[gwyn]

We have practiced Farrell's Christ Be Our Light, Across the Years there Echoes and Wait for the Lord, His Day is Near (Taize), and Enter in the Wilderness the Lord is Coming

Why not the three of you sing one or two of them as Communion Songs? That way the punter-in-the-pew will become familiar with them. In truth though, each is so accessible by the assembly that after verse one they'll soon pick them up. By next year they'll believe they've always sung 'em.

If you run through the refrain of Christ be our Light before Mass they'll get hold of That one fairly quickly.

Wait for the Lord can be sung by the three of you as sop alt and tenor or whatever combination of voices you have. Take it turns to sing a verse or so.

Across the Years is a tune well known to almost every denomination - I think it's called Saint Columba. It works as a Memorial Acclamation too using the words:

When we eat this bread and drink this cup
we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus
until you come in glory;
until you come in glory.

[Alan]

I would love to do the Russian Kyrie and the Salazaar Gloria and OF the Father's Love Begotten on Christmas Day, just for a blooming change!

The first time I did Of the Father's love begotten at Pershore (where they ought to know better), someone moaned about 'that new one we had this morning'. I assured her that it was, in fact, an extremely old one and a Catholic classic. She was not convinced. Perhaps if we'd sung it in Latin...

Seriously though, Gwyn has given you good advice. Slip the occasional new one past them at Communion. If you're feeling brave, schedule it two weeks running: you the first time, and everyone the second. Remember, tradition for Catholics is anything they have done twice.

[Tsume Tsuyu]

I am just a bit bored.

I know what you mean about singing the same old carols at Christmas time, but we should remember that Christmas comes but once a year, so that is actually our only opportunity to sing the traditional, well-loved carols at Mass. The faithful (and those who only come to church at Christmas) expect to hear the carols they know and love and I feel it would be wrong to deprive them.

That said, I think there is room to introduce new music and I agree with Glynn's suggestion of singing something new at communion, coupled with Alan's idea of using it for more than one week. This year, we're using Stephen Dean's Advent Communion Song 2 as our communion song for each week of Advent. I defy any of our congregation to say they don't know it by the time we're done!

Another way of introducing some variety at Christmas might be to choose new carols with familiar tunes. There's Whose Child is This? (John Bell, I think), to the tune of Greensleeves which I'm sure almost everyone knows. Or what about God's Surprise, another Wild Goose offering, which is set to the tune of Scarlet Ribbons?

As for introducing new music generally, Nick Baty makes some really good suggestions in his article in the latest issue of M&L.

[Merseysider]

the two Advent hymns which the congregation will respond to. O Come O Come Emmanuel and On Jordan's Banks the Baptist's Cry

If they can sing the latter (which I think is a tad tricky) then they'll wing their way through Christ Be Our Light. You could have tried getting people used to the tune of Across the Years there Echoes Still earlier in the year with the words of The King of Love or AN Other – planning backwards really does work.

How about having a song for the season? Last Advent we sang Farrell's Bread of Life throughout Advent – it was so well-known by Christmas that we sang it during the communion procession at Midnight Mass (with added flutes, recorders and guitar) and it went pretty well. This year we're singing Martin Foster's Longing Trusting as a gathering song every week – today was only its second outing and the roof was well and truly raised. Of course, noone has forgotten Bread of Life and we'll be using it again next week (or do I mean the week after). Similarly we're using a home-spun Gospel Greeting throughout Advent and will use it again at Midnight Mass but with added trumpets and trombone to make it sound different.

I am so sad because it has been really great finding beautiful and meaningful songs which fit the liturgy but we just dare not use them.

Why not? Go one – skate on thin ice – you might be very pleasantly surprised.

I would love to do the Russian Kyrie and the Salazaar Gloria...on Christmas Day, just for a blooming change!

Go for it – or for one of them at least. Give 'em loads of what they know and chuck in something new for fun. It's Christmas – play on their goodwill. I usually wear something more outlandish than usual – last year it was a gold waistcoat – and play on their goodwill to get them singing something like Taizé's Gloria in excelsis round.

Mr Oops you need cheering up. We are not limited. We have endless opportunities because we have a wonderful basic resource – people! Plan now for next Christmas – I'm serious! Think what you'd like to be doing and introduce what you can over the next 12 months (eg you could sing Bernadette Farrell's Bread of Life in Lent and it has Advent and Christmas verses too. Similarly, Christ be our light is suitable for quite a few Sundays in the new year and on the second Sunday of Lent. And now there are verses for Easter too!)

Go for it. Remove the Oops from your name and let's hear about the great and the swell instead.

[Tsume Tsuyu]

Couldn't find "God's Surprise" or "Whose child is this"

Sorry, Oops, I gave you a bum steer. It's What Child Is This? and it's not from Wild Goose at all. It's by William C. Dix and we found it in Journeysongs which is an OCP publication. God's Surprise is in one of the Wild Goose collections though.

[docmattc]

It's What Child Is This? and it's not from Wild Goose at all. It's by William C. Dix and we found it in Journeysongs which is an OCP publication. God's Surprise is in one of the Wild Goose collections though.

Its definitely in Hymns Old and New and I think its in Laudate too.
Oops, you say you're stuck with 'O come all ye faithful' as a recessional, which is common in many places but surely the clue is in the verb- it should be an entrance hymn otherwise the chorus has to be "Go home we have adored Him" (or am I being too pedantic?).

I am introducing "Of the Father's love begotten" this year, some of the choir (those who are converts mostly) knew it but some (the cradle Catholics) didn't. Why have we lost such a great hymn with some theology in it from our core repertoire while retaining sentimental bleep about babies never crying? Is it because when it comes to Christmas we've never grown up and still want to do what pretend we're kids?

[contrabordun]

Is it because when it comes to Christmas we've never grown up and still want to do what pretend we're kids?

Yes. Undoubtedly. Same reason the churches are full at Christmas.

[dunstan]

I am introducing "Of the Father's love begotten" this year, some of the choir (those who are converts mostly) knew it but some (the cradle Catholics) didn't. Why have we lost such a great hymn with some theology in it from our core repertoire while retaining sentimental bleep about babies never crying? Is it because when it comes to Christmas we've never grown up and still want to do what pretend we're kids?

There's a lovely arrangement of Divinum Mysterium in the 1972 edition of "Praise the Lord". Like so many chants which have become hymn tunes, the arrangements seem quite, erm, variable.

[docmattc]

Is it because when it comes to Christmas we've never grown up and still want to do what pretend we're kids?

This is a great collection of words, but doesn't seem to have quite made it into a sentence!

Is it because when it comes to Christmas we've never grown up and still want to pretend we're kids? I think I meant to say.

Bah Humbug!!

[gwyn]

Gottcha meaning the first time Doc. I'm sure there's something in what you say.

Maybe banning Christmas from the high street is helping to restore it to homes and churches. I wonder.

[Dot]

There's a lovely arrangement of Divinum Mysterium in the 1972 edition of "Praise the Lord".

"Praise the Lord" is an extremely useful compilation for the accompanist; I wouldn't be without my copy.

"Of the Father's love begotten" is indeed a great hymn with a wonderful tune which, as well as being interesting, is also remarkably easy to sing. Its words are meaningful and unsentimental. It's versatile too as it can be sung unaccompanied. In these days when we are being exhorted to return to plainchant, we should be making wider use of works such as this, which are timeless and accessible.

Vigil Mass at Christmas quotes enough reasons not to over-use sentimental carols in the Liturgy without me adding anything. Let's keep on looking for replacements of greater quality.

Dot

(feeling the onset of X-masophobia)

[oopsorganist]

That's irresistible Docmattc

Played this tune 6 times
In last sixteen hours
Some would by now have got the notes just right
All the right notes but not in the right places
Sing this bit quietly
Sing this a bit louder
Now give it some wellie
Christmas Beer

Shall I play safe and
Keep to main arrangement
Or the the last verse with descant harmony?
Book bought form Scheerer's circa '97
Will it put them off or
Will they think I'm tiddly or
Time's up make decision
Christmas Beer

Father's exhausted
Organist is bored
Is it true Santa was at Midnight Mass?
Lovely flowers
On Lady Altar
Shall I take them home will
Anybody notice
Go home you have adored Him
Same time next year