SUBJECT: MUSIC!!! (And Ecumenism!!!)
This is a different sort of post -- and I'm hoping for some good feedback.
Looking back over the recently concluded Christmas season, I was struck once again that, despite the differences which grieve the Body of Christ, the Christmas music we all enjoy is a beautiful example of ecumenism in the best sense of the word. Note, if you will, the background behind some of our most beloved carols.
Joy To The World -- text by the English Nonconformist Isaac Watts; music by the German (presumably Lutheran) GF Handel (who spent much of his life living and working in England).
Silent Night -- text by the German Catholic priest Josef Mohr; music by German Catholic Franz Gruber.
Hark, The Herald Angels Sing -- text by the Anglican Methodist Charles Wesley; music by the Jewish convert to Protestant Christianity Felix Mendelssoln.
O Little Town Of Bethlehem -- text by Episcopalian Bishop Phillips Brooks
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear -- text by Unitarian! clergyman Edmund Sears
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen -- traditional Church of England
Perhaps we are sometimes more united in song than in prayer!
Please feel free to add your favorite Christmas music (and its history/background) to this list.
Papa Z
Looking back over the recently concluded Christmas season, I was struck once again that, despite the differences which grieve the Body of Christ, the Christmas music we all enjoy is a beautiful example of ecumenism in the best sense of the word. Note, if you will, the background behind some of our most beloved carols.
Joy To The World -- text by the English Nonconformist Isaac Watts; music by the German (presumably Lutheran) GF Handel (who spent much of his life living and working in England).
Silent Night -- text by the German Catholic priest Josef Mohr; music by German Catholic Franz Gruber.
Hark, The Herald Angels Sing -- text by the Anglican Methodist Charles Wesley; music by the Jewish convert to Protestant Christianity Felix Mendelssoln.
O Little Town Of Bethlehem -- text by Episcopalian Bishop Phillips Brooks
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear -- text by Unitarian! clergyman Edmund Sears
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen -- traditional Church of England
Perhaps we are sometimes more united in song than in prayer!
Please feel free to add your favorite Christmas music (and its history/background) to this list.
Papa Z
Labels: Christian Unity, Christianity, Hymns, Personal
posted by David Zampino | 1:14 PM
4 Comments:
Of course I have heard it said: "S/he who sings, prays twice." So maybe we are closer than we think. I would be interested in what recent ecumenical collaborations there have been. :)
Peace,
Mike Baldwin
I was racking my brain to think of one, then it came to me: "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence", which is based on the Oriental Church's Liturgy of St James, translated into English poetry by an Anglican, and set to a French Catholic tune.
Thanks for both your comments.
With regard to recent developments . . . it all depends on what you consider recent! How about "Shine, Jesus Shine" being sung during a Eucharistic procession at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham!
It occurs to me that quite a few traditional Latin hymns were translated by High-Church Anglo-Catholic Anglicans, and that these translations are frequently used today. JM Neale translated quite a few.
Is this the same Anglican Use parish in Houston? "Shine Jesus Shine" is an odd choice for any sort of processional -- the tempo is all wrong for a stately procession.
Have a Blessed Lent, for those who begin today!
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