Merry Christmas One And All!

A Christmas wish from the Pink Insider to all Pink Singers, new and old, active and dormant, and to all readers of In The Pink(ies): may happiness, love and peace be with you and your loved ones this season and in the year to come. I thought I'd share with you two of my favourite carols, both by John Rutter. I know Paul G likes them too; we've both been pushing for their entry into the winter 2008 repertoire. They are religious in tone, but Rutter himself is not a religious man. Instead he is inspired by spirituality - and thank goodness he is, for he produces some great choral music!

The video below is of Angels' Carol - my current favourite. It is a very popular choral work, at least judging by YouTube standards. I've selected what I think is the best of the bunch, but there are multiple different versions, mainly performed by church choirs, including an SATB version valiantly sung by a Korean group with only three tenors and four basses and one by a quartet from Rio de Janeiro, and an SSA arrangement performed by boys and girls (weird pronunciation and all - Gloria in excelsis Deeeooo?) in Hong Kong, and two mixed children's choirs in America. The lyrics follow, if you'd like to sing along:

Have you heard the sound of the angel voices,
Ringing out so sweetly, ringing out so clear?
Have you seen the star shining out so brightly,
As a sign from God that Christ the Lord is here!

Have you heard the news that they bring from heaven,
To the humble shepherds who have waited long?
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Hear the angels sing their joyful song.

He is come in peace in the winter's stillness,
Like a gentle snowfall in the gentle night.
He is come in joy, like the sun at morning,
Filling all the world with radiance and with light.

He is come in love as the child of Mary,
In a simple stable we have seen his birth.
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Hear the angels singing 'Peace on earth'.

He will bring new light to a world in darkness,
Like a bright star shining in the skies above.
He will bring new hope to the waiting nations,
When he comes to reign in purity and love.

Let the earth rejoice at the Saviour's coming,
Let the heavens answer with the joyful morn:
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Hear the angels singing, 'Christ is born',
Hear the angels singing, 'Christ is born'.

This second carol is What Sweeter Music, whose lyrics are based on a poem by Robert Herrick. I have to say that the version below is not sung quite so well as the version I have on CD, but it sure beats the other video I tracked down on YouTube performed by what I presume is a Vietamese choir since the girls are wearing the áo dài. Their harsh but oh-so-sadly deserved feedback on YouTube includes "Wow tenors, learn how to sing please. This was so out of tune." and "It made me tear up... and not in a good way."

What sweeter music can we bring,
Than a carol, for to sing,
The birth of this our heavenly King?
Awake the voice! Awake the string!

Dark and dull night, fly hence away,
And give the honour to this day,
That sees December turn'd to May,
That sees December turn'd to May.

Why does the chilling winter's morn,
Smile, like a field beset with corn?
Or smell, like a meadow newly shorn,
Thus, on the sudden? Come and see,
The cause, why things thus fragrant be:

'Tis He is born, whose quick'ning birth,
Gives life and luster, public mirth,
To heaven and the under-earth.

We see Him come, and know Him ours,
Who, with His sunshine, and His show'rs,
Turns all the patient ground to flow'rs,
Turns all the patient ground to flow'rs.

The darling of the world is come,
And fit it is, we find a room,
To welcome Him, to welcome Him.

The nobler part of all the house here,
Is the heart,
Which we will give Him; and bequeath,
This holly and this ivy wreath,
To do Him honour; who's our King,
And Lord of all this revelling.

What sweeter music can we bring,
Than a carol, for to sing,
The birth of this our heavenly King?
The birth of this our heavenly King?

Both this video and the one I've not embedded are salutory lessions in how difficult it can be to develop a mature choral sound. One breath, cover those vowels and keep them round and long, dipthongs to the very end of the note please! All choirs need the same reminders: take a look at these rehearsal videos captured from the viewpoint of an alto of a very generously proportioned man conducting an Australian choir. Musically it is better, but the visuals leave something to be desired!