Our carol today is “What Child Is This.”
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
What words of triumph and joy! Despite the melancholic melody, this song is a song of celebration of the birth of the King of kings.
After we hear about [...]
The origins of this plaintive carol date to medieval times. In the 800s, a series of Latin hymns were sung each day during Christmas Vespers from December 17 to 23. To hear how John Mason Neale came to write this hymn, and how it is related to the Latin hymns, listen to the show.
Karmyn Tyler [...]
Today, we’re going to hear the story behind the beautiful Christmas carol, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.”
Written in 1849 by Edmund Hamilton Sears, a Unitarian minister, this was the second of two “twin” carols. (Listen to the show for more.)
Lyrics
“It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”
It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From [...]
