Tag Archive for 'holidays'

Audio Christmas Card ‘07 — Hark This

Published
by
Chad
on 25 December 2007
in art and culture, audio, faith and theology and holidays
. 35 Comments

Well, I told you I’d post it, and here I am a whole week early. In between all the gift giving and receiving and hustle and bustle, we threw this little ditty together to complete our three song homemade gift for family and friends (ya’ll :)

Perhaps you’ve heard about the so-called “War on Christmas.” I, myself, think it’s all a bunch of Christian baiting hype, and I have only one pet peeve, and it’s been going for years and years and years. It’s the fact that when people talk about Christmas Carols, they mean.. Rudolph. Frosty. Sleigh Ride.

Bah Humbug.

What follows, my friends, is a Christmas Carol. This is where theology and poetry intersect with timeless results. It was my hope to draw attention to the staggeringly beautiful lyric while at the same time catapulting the arrangement into another time zone. I’m hoping to clobber you with joy. If you’re hoping for sublime and articulate, I suggest you look elsewhere. :)

Merry Post-Christmas, friends.

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Authors note: After many unsuccessful attempts to embed the cool audio thingie in the post without help of the webmaster (who apparantly thinks that it’s alright not to answer his cell phone on Christmas day - BTW, Mike… yeah… that 2nd message, the one where I said I had it figured out… premature) I just did a workaround.

When you read this, Mike… feel free to fix it, delete this, and mock me.

(ed: fixed, snarky comments left intact for posterity)

Oh, and then tell me our track is great.

Audio Christmas Card ‘07

Published
by
Chad
on 21 December 2007
in audio, faith and theology and holidays
. 13 Comments

Greetings, Christmas participants worldwide.

Mercifully, this blessed season of joy, peace, and early bird specials is drawing to a climax, with the big day just around the corner. This being our first year of Christmas in the post-church-employment era, and consequently also being the first Christmas of the post-regular-paycheck era, Erica and I have decided to augment our gift giving with a couple of homemade goodies.

First, we present Ella. Ella is 4 and a half years old, and we decided that she was old enough to participate. I do not believe I am just speaking from a perspective of proud papa when I say that if you can get through the next 3 minutes without a big, stupid grin on your face, then bah humbug indeed.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Next, the grownups would like to serenade you about the children.

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I have some commentary for the tracks if anyone’s interested. I’ll post in the comments section in time. Tracking a vocal session with a 4 year old? Yes, it was entertaining, thanks for asking.

I’ve actually got a 3rd one cooking and if I can get it done before New Years, I’ll post it for ya’ll. If not, We wish you a very Merry, peaceful Christmas to you and yours in the days to come. I know that I’m trying to reconnect with Jesus in 2008, and I hope the same for you.

That Night

Published
by
michael lee
on 20 December 2007
in art and culture, church and holidays
. 9 Comments

I’m in the midst of cooking up some Christmas Miracles for our church this upcoming Sunday and Monday, and a thought rattled up from the depths of my Nyquil addled brain. Back in school, Chad had done a choral arrangement of an poem by an unknown author, presented in a book called The Book of Jesus, by Calvin Miller. The words are almost perfect for the theme that our pastor, Doug, is preaching on this Sunday, and I wanted to rewrite a new song around it. It took some time to track them down, but here are the words. If anyone has any further information on the author, I’d appreciate any insight.

That Night

Author Unknown

That night when the Judean skies

The mystic star dispensed its light,

A blind man moved in his sleep –

And dreamed that he had sight.

That night when shepherds heard the song

Of hosts angelic choiring near,

A deaf man stiffed in slumber’s spell –

And dreamed that he could hear!

That night when the cattle stall

Slept child and mother cheek by jowl,

A cripple turned his twisted limbs –

And dreamed that he was whole.

That night when o’er the newborn Babe

The tender Mary rose to lean,

A loathsome leper smiled in sleep –

And dreamed that he was clean.

That night when to the mother’s breast

The little King was held secure,

A harlot slept a happy sleep –

And dreamed that she was pure!

That night when in the manger lay

The Sanctified who came to save,

A man moved in the sleep of death –

And dreamed there was no grave.

A Very iTunes Christmas

Published
by
michael lee
on 19 December 2007
in audio and holidays
. 2 Comments

Ready for some free holiday cheer, brought to you by the good folks at iTunes? Check out the free downloads they have right now:

“Hallelujah Chorus”, with the London Symphony Orchestra

“Ding Dong, Merrily On High” by Chanticleer

A dramatic reading of Matthew 1&2, from The Bible Experience

These things are usually only free for a few days, so dig in, kiddos!

12 Days of Christmas

Published
by
Sharolyn
on 12 December 2007
in art and culture, asides, holidays and laugh!
. 8 Comments

Merry Christmas from Indiana University