Mormon Tabernacle Choir - "Come, Come Ye Saints"

In celebration of Pioneer Day tomorrow, I have chosen "Come, Come Ye Saints" as this week's pick. This hymn has become the anthem of the Mormon Pioneers. I can't help but feel the spirit, strength, courage, and faith of those pioneers as I listen to or sing this hymn. I am always deeply touched by these lyrics and this music.

This hymn was also sung at the prayer assembly at BYU on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, hours after our country was attacked and the Twin Towers fell. It was a surreal and powerful experience to be in the Marriott Center, filled with thousands of BYU students, who met together to pray and sing for strength and comfort during that scary time. The lyrics of this hymn were a source of much comfort to me, as I'm sure they were to others, on that horrific day when the future was so unsure. I remember singing this hymn, with tears in my eyes, thinking that perhaps that day would be the closest I would ever be to understanding a fraction of what the Pioneers may have felt during their experience. Though their future was unsure at times, and they faced much persecution and hatred, it was their faith in Jesus Christ that gave them comfort and hope to sing the words, "All is well!" I am amazed and overwhelmed with gratitude for the faith, strength, and legacy the Mormon Pioneers have left us with.

Happy Pioneer Day!

Read the lyrics + brief history of the song.
Read about the Pioneers.
Learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I am also intrigued with this project by Australian composer Glenn Gordon. I have been listening to some excerpts and all the buzz about it on 89.1 KBYU FM.
Can't wait to get a recording.

Christmas Week: Day 7

"O Holy Night"

Yes, out of all the versions I could have picked of this song, I chose 'NSync.
What can I say? I have a soft spot for JT and good A Cappella.

"O Holy Night" will always remain my most favorite Christmas song.
It holds so many precious memories of my father singing.
It also perfectly captures the feelings of reverence, praise, and glory for the Savior Jesus Christ, who of course, is the center of Christmas.

May you all have a very Merry Christmas and feel the love and joy of the Savior in your lives.

Christmas Pick: Day 3

"Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant

I can remember the first time I heard this song. I was alone in the car, pregnant, driving somewhere - probably Christmas shopping - and this song came on the radio. I cried through the whole thing and it became a favorite.

The words and feelings of this song are so precious and sacred.
I still cry whenever I hear it.

Christmas Pick: Day 2

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" is one of the carols that was sung by the waits, those municipal watchmen in old Englad who, like the town criers, were licensed to perform certain duties, such as singing seasonal songs, including those of Christmas, to the proper people. It was first published in 1827 as "an ancient version, sung in the streets of London." Charles Dickens used it in A Christmas Carol: Ebenezer Scrooge, the rich but miserly curmudgeon, hears it sung jauntily in the street and threatens to hit the singer with a ruler if he does not cease immediately. Fortunately, Scrooge is about to be vouchsafed the true meaning of Chrsitmas, and to be made merry - and generous - himself.

(from Reader Digest's Merry Christmas Songbook)

I picked this version because I love the smooth voices of Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan.
I love classic songs redone well.
This will always be a favorite of mine.

Christmas Pick: Day 1

"Joy to the World"

Though the triumphant words "Joy to the world" exemplify the Christmas feeling, this familiar text is actually a translation based on five verses from Psalm 98 in the Old Testament. Isaac Watts, the Engish hymnist and cleric, published his Psalms of David, which contains these verses in 1719. More than a century later, in 1839, American composer and music educator Lowell Mason decided to set them to music, modestly including the phrase "From George Frederick Handel," apparently to honor his idol, the composer of Messiah and many other masterpieces. For nearly 100 years, the world accepted this ascription, until musicologists pointed out that not a single phrase in the music can be said to have come straight from any work of Handel's.

(from Reader's Digest Christmas Songbook)

Even though no phrase comes straight from Handel's work, I can see how this song could be a tribute to Handel. It is very Handelesque.