As with Handel’s “Messiah,” the development of “Hark! The Herald Angel Sings” exemplifies  the ever-evolving collaboration (some say interference) of artist, patron and theologian.

The original poem which begat the song, written in 1739 by Methodist pastor and song writer Charles Wesley, was entitled “Hymn for Christmas Day.”  Wesley’s hymn was an epic with over 10 stanzas. It included words that showed Wesley’s intellect but left listeners scratching their heads.  Wesley’s pastor friend, George Whitfield, pointed this out and suggested revisions, simplifying the text.

Half of the Wesley-Whitfield stanzas survived into the next century and made an impression on English composter  William  Cummings. Cummings liked the lyrics, but not the slower, Easter-season tune Wesley had composed ("Christ  The Lord is Risen Today.") However, Cummings felt the words were compatible with the tune of the popular "Gutenberg Cantata" recently written by German composer Felix Mendelssohn.  Cummings believed Mendelssohn’s symphonic arrangement captured the implied awe and power of a sky full of “a multitude of the heavenly host praising God,” the passage in the Gospel of Luke that  inspired Wesley’s hymn.

In 1855 the Wesley-Whitfield-Cummings-Mendelssohn  composition debuted with  the structure changes familiar today, but maintaining the essence of the words first recorded centuries before in the gospel of Luke: 

“Glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

LEARN MORE:  Comparative lyrics.

Centuries later, these words and music created controversy when used in what is not one of the most iconic annual Christmas television programs, “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown,” the 1965 TV special that almost didn’t occur.

The overt gospel presentation that author Charles Schulz included in the script had CBS network offices and sponsors concerned.  They were okay with the “Peanuts” gang rendering one of the most poignant versions ever of “Hark! The Herald…” as they caroled at Snoopy’s house with Charlie Brown’s revived tree to end the show. 

What scared the executives was an earlier scene when Linus explains the true meaning of Christmas by reciting the gospel of Luke in the pageant rehearsal. This makes Charlie Brown one of the  few programs that directly speaks the gospel of Christ for a non-church audience.  There was the rub.  Fearing a public backlash about show including the story of Christ in Christmas, CBS wanted the scene cut. Schulz stood firm.  No gospel; no “Peanuts.”  And unto us, a franchise was born.

LEARN MORE:  Linus recites what Christmas is all about.

LEARN MORE:  Glenn McDonald, CBS & Linus' security blanket.

Many wonder if – or how – the should could be created and aired today.  Nevertheless, the evolution of “Hark! The Herald…” from lengthy, erudite poem, to symphonic anthem, to simple children’s song, to uncomfortable gospel message, point out the enduring strength of the essay researched by Luke the historian.

Poetically, the visuals of the lyrics as presented in #CarolStory starts a sequence of dialogue between the shepherds and the angels.  "Do You Hear What I Hear?," another carol more recently associated with a children's cinema favorite ("Gremlins"), is added to the conversation to  begin the evening's journey.  First , hearing, then seeing the angels,  the shepherds are moved from fear to comfort as they interpret the angels' mission and  instructions to begin  a Pied-Piperesque journey to Bethlehem, picking up a drummer boy and others as they go away to the manger.

The videos here -- the  majesty of Mendelssohn’s  anthem in  Alan Silvestri's arrangement of "Hark! The Herald...," contrasted with its  quiet message to Charlie Brown and connected by the intimacy of Johnny Mathis asking, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" -- allow us to experience various ways the Lord speaks:  with herald trumpets and a sweet, still voice.

LEARN MORE:  How Handel's Messiah Came About

LEARN MORE:  Micah's Bethlehem Prophecy

"Silent Night" is the quintessential Christmas song. It's virtually impossible for any artist to record a Christmas album and not have a rendition.  In this 200th anniversary of the song's creation, we thought  it fun to expand the variety of recordings of the song to show its durability and to underscore the need to not let musicality overshadow the message of the lyrics.

Sis. Vanetta Pinn, who curated our Carol Story YouTube Playlist, included versions by Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber and Boyz II Men for our re-posting consideration.  We've linked these videos to give a glimpse of vocal variations, musical arranging and technical production growth through the years. 

LEARN MORE:  "Silent Night" 200th anniversary observations

We've also included a medley by KIT Ministries co-founder Vikki J. Myers as a sample of how Christmas music can be merged with non-seasonal worship selections to give a sense of how the Christmas message lasts beyond the holidays.

However, for the purposes of our #CarolStory live presentation, the renditions that best  reflect the backstory nuances are by Andrea Bocelli and Mahalia Jackson . 

In the context of #CarolStory,  the 10-minute worship play, “Silent Night" is woven with five other standard carols — “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "O Holy Night,” “Hark! The Herald,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and “The Hallelujah Chorus” to establish the atmosphere of fear, awe and respect that the shepherds experienced when the Heavenly Host appeared on “The Night” when Christ was born. (The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 8-15)

LEARN MORE:  "Carol Story" The Script

Bocelli, singing in Italian, brings to mind the European feel of the original German carol written by Franz Gruber.  We wonder how Gruber may respond to the variety of arrangements of the song, especially considering the urgent and somewhat controversial circumstances  under which he wrote the piece for Christmas Eve 1818.

LEARN MORE:  History of "Silent Night"

There's a nostalgic prejudice for Mahalia Jackson's version.  It was among the first "church" Christmas songs Michael heard and was a family favorite.  His mother,  not a singer, would sing along whenever the record  (as in vinyl) played , or when the Spirit moved her to burst into song  while baking cookies  thinking she was alone in the kitchen in the middle of the night.

As with other selections in this piece, the lyrics of "Silent Night" are woven throughout the play to move the story along and work effectively as scene exposition transitioning between scenes.

​LEARN MORE:  "Carol Story" Live

Andrea Bocelli is an Italian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Celin Dion, with whom he recorded "The Prayer,"  has said that "if God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli."

Bocelli has recorded 15 solo studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas, selling over 90 million records worldwide. He has had success as a crossover performer, bringing classical music to the top of international pop charts.

He was born with poor eyesight and became completely blind at age 12, following a football accident.
 "The Prayer," his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film Quest for Camelot ,  won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1999. -- Source:  Wikipedia
​
LEARN MORE:  Andre Bocelli Today

Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel."  She became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist. She was described by entertainer Harry Belafonte as "the single most powerful black woman in the United States". She recorded about 30 albums (mostly for Columbia Records) during her career, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen "golds"—million-sellers.

"I sing God's music because it makes me feel free,"  Jackson once said about her choice of gospel, adding, "It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues." -- Source:  Wikipedia.

Mahalia Jackson is also one of the individuals whose story is included in  the Kingdom Impact Theater production, "Faith, Hope & Love:  History-Making Women of Faith," a one-woman performance by Vikki J.  Myers

LEARN MORE:  Mahalia Jackson Biography

LEARN MORE:  Original French Lyrics

LEARN MORE:  Beloved Carols with non-American Origins

To catch the full impact of the full gospel messagei in traditional Christmas carols -- those which tell the story of Jesus from birth through the anticipated second Christmas -- it's important to listen to all the stanzas.

The first five selections of "Carol Story" do so primarily by setting the atmosphere of the night Jesus was born to his earthly parents.  The selection which best establishes the setting, like a screenplay stage directions, is "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear."

 "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" is a paradox in that its author, Edmond  Sears, was a Unitarian pastor who believed and preached the Divinity of Jesus.  Unitarians may or may not believe in God; those who do believe do not necessarily accept The Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) belief. Sears was intrigued by the role of the angels in the account of Christ's birth recorded in the Gospel of Luke (Chapter 2).  Nevertheless, the song is a standard in many Methodist Church hymnals.

The musical version on #TheCarolStoryPlaylist by Anne Murray embodies the simplicity of the lyric and the clarity of the angelic tone.  Murray's arrangement leaves little question why Elvis Presley called her his favorite singer.   (Incidentally, as of this writing, Anne Murray has not passed away, despite recent Internet condolences claiming otherwise.)

Sears' poem providing recurring exposition for our #CarolStory narrative.  Its subsequent stanzas, not always sung, are a sterling example of why reading lyrics is as important as recording the tune.  Perhaps moreso.

LEARN MORE: Edmund Sears -- Unitarian seminarian, Methodist author.

"The First Noel" is based mostly in Luke's Chapter 2 account of the heavenly host of angels announcing the birth of Christ to shepherds. (Enjoy the story.)

To get a good grasp of what happened, put yourself in place of the shepherds: You and some close pals are out camping, in your suburban backyard, or, like, hiding out on the rooftop of a parking garage. Where ever you are the sky is pretty black except for a few twinkle, twinkle little stars, because you're away from city-lights distortion. Then:​

The sky lights up! Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden face appears in the super moon -- and STARTS TALKING!  YOU KNOW you have not ingested any foreign, mind-altering substances. What emotions do you feel?

THAT'S why Luke wrote verses 9-10 in his history report to the Gentile academic Theophilus. YOUR emotions are why the angels said, "Do not be afraid." This sentiment is captured in the lyric, The first noel was to certain poor shepherds." To "certain." Meaning, to “calm.” To reassure them attack is not imminent.

Among the many meanings of the word "noel" are joy, joyous song, birth, good news. “Noel” is also “Christmas” in French, and is derived from "Nowell," in old English, the language in which "The First Noel" was originally written around 1820.
​
The video here captures the sensibility of the angels attempting to chill the shepherds and the power of the moment.  In our #CarolStory the lyrics allow the actors to adapt new characters and take the audience on the journey to Bethlehem physically and emotionally.

​"God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen" is among the many carols with cryptic meaning and origins. It's a 16th century English tune that has evoked commentaries about the lyricists' commentary on the state of the Church in England, warrior soldiers, uninspiring worship music, bar culture and punctuation.

The word merry is open to interpretation: Does it mean "happy" or does it mean "mighty." Depending on your take, the gentlemen could be barflies partying all night, or warriors preparing for battle.
There's also room for spoken interpretation based upon punctuation. Move the comma around. How does the title change with the comma after ye (as above), after merry; or with merry set off by commas?

We like it because the opening line struck us as the start of a powerful actor's monologue in the classical, Shakespearean tradition that, in script form, propels action. So much so that our writing of #CarolStory began when we spoke the lyrics and began improvising a scene. We were also struck how the song introduces the Gospel of Christ right away...even if in a bar.

We're thankful to our daughter for introducing us to the #Pentatonix and our sister Vanetta Pinn for unearthing this version.

#CarolStoryKIT #ChristmasCarols #Song

There  has been much conversation lately about the meaning of some songs that have become associated with the Christmas season.  That is, they are songs generally sung during the Thanksgiving and New Year's  holidays then not heard again for another 12 months.

Without assessing a viewpoint on a particular song, we agree it is good to frequently examine what we sing and what we say . Scripture reminds us to do so, especially teachings , spirits and ourselves.  Re-examination not only yields growth, it also deepens discoveries that yield fruit.  Those who lead music for Christian worship are regularly challenged to test the lyrics of newer songs for theological accuracy as well as singability.

 At the same time, we must often revisit beloved "traditional" songs to make certain we know what we're saying, and not just singing songs because "it's my favorite" without grasping the intent of the author or the rationale behind the song.  This is, perhaps, a reason for some of the conversations about holiday outside of church circles today.

Over a decade ago, KIT Ministries took such a journey, looking afresh at the lyrics and origins of songs associated with Christmas, and discovered fascinating and cathartic messages.  Exploring the Christmas songs -- notably the carols --  enables a careful listener to actually hear the gospel message of Christ:  from birth to death to resurrection to second Christmas yet-to-come.  This discovery enabled us to create a one-act play, "Carol Story," that consists solely of the lyrics of Christmas carols spoken as dialogue.

"Carol Story" has grown beyond our expectations and is now a requested holiday season presentation.  So much  so, we received a request for a companion piece for Easter.  While our "Carol Story" schedule for this year is filled, the stories associated with the songs are on-going.   So, in this space and in our social media outlets, we'll share some of the stories behind the 61 songs that are adapted for the scripts of "Carol Story" and "Carol Story: The Easter Edition."

LEARN MORE:  The Songs of Carol Story

LEARN MORE:  See "Carol Story" live

Feel free to look at the entire play list, then follow us for the daily video postings of some arrangements along with brief anecdotes.  We trust that through these two methods, the songs of Christmas that you sing with joy or just hear as background white noise while out and about, will have a deeper impact, a kingdom impact, to allow you to hear the Christ of Christmas at times you're least expecting.  Like, everyday.

​LEARN MORE:  The Carol Story and Carol Story Easter Edition Playlist

Many of the songs we associate as Christmas songs, or as Christmas carols, originated in other nations.  As often occurs today, new songs were created by adapting fresh lyrics to standard tunes.  The process made the new tune singable more quickly.  Two well-known none Christmas examples are "America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)," whose tune is the British national anthem, "God Save The Queen;" and, the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." That patriotic poem Francis Scott Key wrote during the War of 1812 was paired with a popular drinking song hailed in American pubs as if to thumb their noses at the British. 

The prelude to "Carol Story" demonstrates examples of this technique with brief samples of popular Christmas songs whose origins were folk songs on foreign shores.  One from England, one from France, one for Ukraine.

As a bonus, we  wish you a Merry Christmas in the spirit of Christmas today -- joy in His name -- not as the song was originally intended: as a sarcastic response from the poor to the rich, but a heartfelt sign for you to learn and share when the time is appropriate.