Sunday, December 24, 2017 by Mary O'Connor | holiday

"O Holy Night" ("Cantique de Noël") is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Cappeau (1808–1877).

Cappeau, a wine merchant and poet, had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem. Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight, editor of Dwight's Journal of Music, created a singing edition based on Cappeau's French text in 1855.

In both the French original and in the two familiar English versions of the carol, the text reflects on the birth of Jesus and of mankind's redemption.
 

O Holy Night sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the King's Singers

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Saturday, December 23, 2017 by Mary O'Connor | holiday

 
 "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as Adeste Fideles) is a Christmas carol which has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692) and King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), with the earliest manuscript of the hymn bearing his name, located in the library of the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa.

 
 The original four verses of the hymn were extended to a total of eight, and these have been translated into many languages. The English translation of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" by the English Catholic priest Frederick Oakeley, written in 1841, is widespread in most English speaking countries.
  

There are now several versions in the O'Connor Music Store if you are interested in learning this Christmas carol.

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Friday, December 22, 2017 by Mary O'Connor | holiday

Gesù Bambino by Pietro Yon has always had a place in my childhood memories since my church choir sang it every Christmas.  Other than that, it didn't seem to be too well known but this song has been turning up in piano books lately.  There are now several versions in the O'Connor Music Store if you are interested in learning this beautiful older Christmas carol.

Gesù bambino was written in 1917. The melody was used by Frederick H. Martens in his English language carol "When Blossoms Flowered 'mid the Snows". The melody and lyrics of the chorus are derived from "Adeste Fideles" (O Come All Ye Faithful).

A piano version

Piano and Organ

Sung by David Archuleta and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

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