Music: Sun Dec 19

 

Musical seasonal greetings familiar and unfamiliar this Sunday at CUUC! Read on for programming details, and stay tuned for spoken introductions.

 

Gathering Music:  Adam Kent, piano

Christmas Medley

            Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming; Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabelle; Good King Wenceslas; We Three Kings; Deck the Halls; O Let Us Sing, I Pray You; Yule's Come and Yule's Gone; Ding Dong Merrily on High; Boar's Head Carol

                                                Traditional, arr. by Donald Waxman

Opening Music:

The Christmas Tree

            7. Slumber Song

                                                Franz Liszt

 

Offertory:

Pessebres (Crèches)

                                    Federico Mompou
Meditation:

El cant dels ocells (The Song of the Birds)*

                                    Traditional Catalan Christmas Carol, arr. by Joaquin Nin-Culmell

Postlude:  

The Christmas Tree

            8. Old Provençal Carol

 

*The Song of the Birds

In seeing emerge

The greatest light

During the most celebrated of nights,

The little birds sing.

They go to celebrate Him

With their delicate voices.

 

The imperial eagle

flies high in the sky,

singing melodically,

saying, "Jesus is born

To save us all from sin

And to give us joy."

 

The sparrow responds,

Today, this Christmas Eve,

Is a night of good cheer!"

The greenfinch and the siskin

Say in singing, too,

"Oh, what joy I feel!"

 

The linnet sang,

"Oh, how lovely and beautiful

Is the child of Mary!"

The thrush answers:

"Death is conquered,

My life now begins!"

 

The nightingale twitters,

"He is more beautiful than the sun,

More brilliant than a star!"

The redstart and the stonechat

Celebrate the infant

And his virgin Mother.

 

The wren sang

For the glory of the Lord,

Inflating with fantasy;

The canary follows:

Its music sounds like

A great song from Heaven.

 

Now comes the woodlark

Saying, "Come birds

To celebrate the dawn!"

And the big blackbird, whistling,

Went celebrating

The greatest Lady.

 

The tit says,

"It is neither winter nor summer

But rather springtime;

A flower is born

That gives a sweet smell all around

And fills the whole world."

 

The francolin sang,

"Birds, who wants to come

Today at daybreak

To see the good Lord

With all of his splendor

Within a stable?"

 

The hoopoe goes singing,

"This night has come

the greatest of Kings!"

The turtle dove and rock dove

Admire, and to all

Sing without sadness.

 

Woodpeckers and bullfinches

Fly between fruit trees

Singing their joys.

The quail and the cuckoo

From afar have come

To see the Messiah.

 

The partridge sang,

"I am going to make my nest

Inside of that stable,

To look upon the Infant;

How he trembles

In the arms of Mary."

 

The magpie, mistle thrush, and jay

Say, "May is coming!"

The goldfinch responds,

"All the trees become green again,

All the branches flower

As if it were the spring."

 

The chaffinch whispers,

"Glory today and tomorrow;

I feel great joy

To see the diamond

So handsome and brilliant

In the arms of Mary."

 

The scops owl and little owl

Seeing the sunrise

Leave confused.

The tawny owl and eagle-owl

Say, "I cannot look;

Such splendors are in front of me!"