Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols

Auteur(s): America Media
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  • Résumé

  • It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The cookies, the mistletoe, the lights...oh, and the music! For Christians, Christmas carols mark a season of hope and the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Even in popular culture, these iconic jingles capture a warmth, a cheer and a nostalgia that transcends religious belonging. But where do these beloved yuletide songs come from? What inspired the people who composed them? How did they become popular and even mainstream? And what impact do their ancient Christian messages have on an increasingly post-Christian culture? America Media presents “Hark!” a podcast on the meaning and the making of our most beloved Christmas carols and their time-honored traditions.
    Copyright © 2024 America Media. All rights reserved.
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Musique Spiritualité
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Épisodes
  • Of the Father’s Love Begotten

    Of the Father’s Love Begotten
    Dec 8 2024
    If you’re in search of an ancient, theologically rich carol this season, look no further than “Of the Father’s Love Begotten.” Long before it became a Christmas carol in the 19th century, this hymn was first penned as a poem in the 4th century by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius. As Brian Flanagan, theologian and church historian, explains, this was a time of significant turmoil in church history, with Christian doctrine being defined and refined through heated debates and councils. Prudentius’ poetry appears to have been a creative way of conveying some of the core teachings that emerged from the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. to the faithful. The elegant verse was later paired with a Eucharistic hymn, thought to be from either the 10th or 13th century, and translated by the renowned Victorian composer John Mason Neale. This poem-hymn has thus endured over 1,500 years of history, proclaiming the mystery of the incarnation that we celebrate at Christmas. Host Maggi Van Dorn also welcomes back Colin Britt to help us appreciate the musical subtleties of this great work, and best-selling writer and novelist Nicole Baart shares why she chose to sing this carol on her wedding day. We owe a great debt of thanks to Richard Jeffrey Gray and the members of the Clifton Cathedral Choir, accompanied by Stephen Bryant and directed by Dr. David Bednall; the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter’s in the Loop, directed by J. Michael Thompson; the Mount Holyoke Glee Club, conducted by Colin Britt; and Lori Pappajohn and Ricardo da Silva, S.J., for providing the music featured in this episode. The show wraps with “Of the Father’s Heart Begotten,” arranged by Sir David Willcocks and performed by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, under the direction of Daniel Hyde. This recording is included on their album In the Bleak Midwinter, available through King’s Recordings. Support Hark! by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine at: americamagazine.org/subscribe This season of Hark! is sponsored by Saints for Sinners, offering divine saint medals imported from Italy and meticulously hand-painted in New Orleans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    45 min
  • The Little Drummer Boy

    The Little Drummer Boy
    Dec 2 2024
    On this episode of “Hark!”, we follow the beat of a modern carol that has gained worldwide fame, yet was composed almost while napping. It is a tale about a figure the Bible never mentions, but whose bold gift leads us straight to the heart of Christmas. This is the story of “The Little Drummer Boy.” First, Lisa Graham, the director of the choral program and a senior lecturer in music at Wellesley College, narrates how Wellesley alumna Katherine Kennicott Davis composed her “Carol of the Drum” in 1941 and how the college bid $11,000 in a battle to win the rights to the original manuscript. Research historian Christian McWhirter, then unpacks the much-romanticized symbol of the drummer boy on the battlefield during the American Civil War. Finally, host Maggi Van Dorn, takes a music lesson with the incomparable liturgical composer, Christopher Walker, also the author of 12 books of stories and songs for children. We are most grateful to our real-life drummer boy, Garrin Knapp, for interpreting and demoing the percussion elements of the carol, and for sharing what the song means to him. The soul-stirring solo of “The Little Drummer Boy" heard on this episode was specially recorded for “Hark!” by Frank Tuson, our very own sound engineer and composer of our theme score. The show wraps with a performance by The King’s Singers from their Christmas album, courtesy of Signum Records. Midway through production on this episode, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Western North Carolina, where Maggi has called home for four years. This episode is dedicated to the ongoing relief efforts in the affected areas. Please consider making a donation to these reputable organizations: BeLoved Asheville: a non-profit organization that has been boots on the ground since long before the hurricane and which will serve those on the margins long after. ReString Appalachia: a movement dedicated to getting quality instruments back in the hands of those who lost them in the hurricane. Support Hark! by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine at: americamagazine.org/subscribe Please donate for Giving Tuesday! From all of us at America Media, thank you! This season of Hark! is sponsored by Saints for Sinners, offering divine saint medals imported from Italy and meticulously hand-painted in New Orleans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 min
  • We Three Kings

    We Three Kings
    Nov 29 2024
    To kick off the fourth season of “Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols” we’re embarking on an adventure to learn about an American-born carol that features some classic nativity characters—figures that, though very familiar to us, we know little about. It’s a Christmas song that begins on a plodding, somber note and erupts into a thrilling epiphany. We’re exploring “We Three Kings.” To help us understand who the magi were—at least from the perspective of Matthew’s Gospel— host Maggi Van Dorn invites Eric Vanden Eykel, author of The Magi: Who They Are, How They’ve Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Ferrum College. The magi’s gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh have long been viewed as symbolic of Jesus’ kingship, divinity and humanity, but how were these two herbs used in antiquity? Maggi learns about their earliest uses from Emiliana Patrick, a fourth year doctoral student in Classical Chinese Medicine at Daoist Traditions College in Asheville, North Carolina. To trace the star the magi followed, Maggi turns to the director of the Vatican’s observatory, Guy Consolmagno, S.J., a Jesuit brother. Finally, to better appreciate the musical genius of the carol’s composition, she speaks with ContraForce, a folk metal band known for their eclectic range of musical styles at contra dances, who specially created an instrumental rendition of “We Three Kings,”specially for “Hark!,” that is woven throughout the episode. The music featured in this episode is courtesy of ContraForce, Michael Logozar, Cynthia Boener, Dante Bucci, the Lee siblings of the Seasons band, Jeff Black and Lotos Nile Music. Special thanks to Jim Bilodeau, our sound engineer, and Jonathan Reid Gealt for lending their vocal talent. Support Hark! by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine at: americamagazine.org/subscribe Please donate for Giving Tuesday! From all of us at America Media, thank you! This season of Hark! is sponsored by Saints for Sinners, offering divine saint medals imported from Italy and meticulously hand-painted in New Orleans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h

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Image de profil pour Jody Raabe

One of my fave religious podcasts this year.

GORGEOUS choral music - each episode links back to one incredible choir recording. Informative, reverent, and respectful. Uplifting.
I hope this continues next year

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