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Liner
Notes
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 1.
The Holly and the Ivy
The use of holly and ivy at religious winter celebrations
has pre-Christian roots. In early pagan traditions, the holly
was a masculine symbol and ivy feminine. Lines in the song
such as “The rising of the sun” refer to celebrations
of the winter solstice. Evergreen holly is also revered in
many cultures as a symbol of defiance of the harsh winter
weather. Holly and ivy became Christian symbols in the Middle
Ages. The wreath of holly represented the crown of thorns
worn by Christ. |
2. Away in a Manger
Religious reformer Martin Luther is considered by some to
be the composer of this carol, although without question the
modern version comes from nineteenth-century American composer
William James Kirkpatrick. The first two verses were by an
anonymous author as part of the Little Children’s
Book for Schools and Families by J. C. File, and the
third verse is by John Thomas McFarland (1851-1913).
 Flow
Gently Sweet Afton
The poem by Robert Burns was first published in the Scots
Musical Museum in 1792. The melody was written by Alexander
Hume. The carol “Away in a Manger” has often been
sung to this same tune.
3. The Snow Lay on the Ground
This is a traditional Irish carol with words set to the hymn
“Venite Adoremus.”
The
snow lay on the ground
The
stars shown bright
When
Christ our Lord was born
On
Christmas night.
Venite
adoremus dominum
4. Polish Lullaby (Lulajze Jezuniu)
Also known as Jesus’ Lullaby, this melody was adapted
by Chopin and appeared in his Scherzo in B minor, Opus 20.
Cold Is the Morning
Many different lyrics in a number of languages have been set
to this Czech melody, including French, German, and English.
Cold
is the morning and bleak is the day
Warm
are our hearts as the sunshine of May
5. A Prayer for St. Bridget (Gabhaim
Molta Bríde)
According to legend, St. Bridget was the daughter of Dubhthach,
a chieftain of Ireland, and Brocca, a slave at his court.
Bridget was born in 452 A.D. near Dundalk in County Louth.
She set up her famous Convent of Cill-Dara (Kildare) in 468
A.D. Bridget was lovingly called the “Queen of the South”
and the “Mary of the Gael,” and according to The
Book of Armagh, she enjoyed a wonderful friendship with
St. Patrick. Briget died February 1, 525 A.D.
Gabriel’s Message
This Basque carol about the Annunciation dates from the early
nineteenth century.
The
Angel Gabriel from heaven came
His
wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame.
6. Christ Child's Lullaby
This carol from the Outer Hebrides Islands was originally
a Gaelic carol titled “Taladh Chriasda.” “Christ
Child's Lullaby” was translated into English in 1855.
It is said that Father Ranald Rankin wrote verses for his
congregation in Maidert to sing in Gaelic at Midnight Mass
on Christmas Eve, as it is to this day in Scottish churches.
7. St. Basil’s Hymn (The Kalanta
of the New Year)
This is Malcolm Dalglish’s arrangement of the Greek
Orthodox carol, adapted by Kim for the harp. Greek children
would sing this song continuously on New Year’s Day
until they were paid to stop. For Malcolm’s vocal arrangement,
go to http://www.oooliticmusic.com.
 8.
In the Bleak Midwinter
The lyrics to this hymn are a poem by the English poet Christina
Rossetti (1830-1894). The poem evolved into a hymn and became
popular when Gustav Holst (1874-1934) wrote the tune “Cranham”
specifically for the text in 1906.
9. Verbum Supernum Prodiens
This hymn comes from approximately the seventh century. It
was one of a group of hymns sung in daily devotions during
Advent (the four weeks before Christmas).
10. The First Noël
Use of the word Nowell in English is first seen in Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales in the fourteenth century. The word
comes from the French word Noël, meaning Christmas. The
carol’s origin was considered to be French but is now
believed to be sixteenth-century English. The melody of the
refrain “Born is the King” was modified in the
nineteenth century, and the changes became permanent.
11. Of the Father’s Love Begotten
Aurelius Clemens Prudentius wrote the original text “Corde
natus ex Parentis” in the fourth century. Prudentius
was a prominent writer in the Roman empire who became a Christian
poet. The text was translated and set to the melody “Divinum
Mysterium” by John Mason Neale in 1854. The melody comes
from the collection Piae Cantiones Ecclesiasticae et
Scholasticae written in 1852.
12. Scottish Lullaby
This Scottish melody dates from the seventeenth century. It
is also known as “O My Deir Heart,” “Balloo
Lammy,” and “Balulalow.”
O
my deir heart, young Jesus sweet,
Prepare
thy cradle in my spreit;
And
I sall rock thee in my heart
And
never mair from thee depart.
13. Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
This hymn was originally a sixteenth-century German Catholic
song that compared Mary to a rose, in reference to the Song
of Solomon 2:1/“I am [the] rose of Sharon, [and the]
lily of the valleys.”
14. The Babe of Bethlehem
This song is from the shape-note tradition and appears in
the book Southern Harmony by William Walker (1853).
In this type of group singing, the note heads have four different
shapes to indicate their pitch in the musical scale.
The
city's name is Bethlehem
In
which God hath appointed,
This
glorious morn a Savior's born
For
him God hath anointed.
15. Silent Night
In the Austrian village Oberndorf, when the church organ broke
on Christmas Eve, 1818, Fr. Joseph Moor was requested to come
up with a replacement piece of music suitable for non-organ
instruments. Within several hours Moor wrote the words for
this hymn, and schoolteacher Franz Gruber composed the music
for voices and guitar. After Christmas the tune was popularized
by traveling vocalists. Tyrolean singers eventually brought
the song to America. |
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