Thank you for this, Chantal. I've always felt that this hymn, one of my personal favourites, has a distinctly French feel to it, even in the English, though the original French lyrics are certainly different in tone and theme and, as you said, more pertinent to Advent.
The sisters sing it very sweetly of course, but for some reason the one in my head plays more like a march, with more pep. I've been humming and whistling it all morning while doing the shopping in the village.
I’m now imagining it with horns and an orchestra, and I’m loving the idea. It would take the sweet lullaby and make it an anthem for the Infant King.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! I’m a huge fan of your own Substack and artwork, so it’s an honour to have you read Heavenly Chant.
This was always a hymn we looked forward to singing in our schola! I think we love it more than a lot of our Christmas pieces, and it’s one of the few I miss being able to join in on.
Thank you for this, Chantal. I've always felt that this hymn, one of my personal favourites, has a distinctly French feel to it, even in the English, though the original French lyrics are certainly different in tone and theme and, as you said, more pertinent to Advent.
Here is my favourite version of this hymn:
https://youtu.be/v1hCHbiEOuY?si=qyC1KsXXbzD3MTv_
The sisters sing it very sweetly of course, but for some reason the one in my head plays more like a march, with more pep. I've been humming and whistling it all morning while doing the shopping in the village.
I’m now imagining it with horns and an orchestra, and I’m loving the idea. It would take the sweet lullaby and make it an anthem for the Infant King.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! I’m a huge fan of your own Substack and artwork, so it’s an honour to have you read Heavenly Chant.
Are you familiar with Maddy Prior?
https://open.spotify.com/album/4kE147oHCcF95XEkPgkm0y
A beautiful carol, thanks for sharing!
This was always a hymn we looked forward to singing in our schola! I think we love it more than a lot of our Christmas pieces, and it’s one of the few I miss being able to join in on.
the music of our penitential seasons always blows me away. Thank you for sharing this!