Christmas Song Story: Ding Dong! Merrily on High   

“Ding Dong! Merrily on High” first appeared as a secular dance tune written by a French cleric, Thoinot Arbeau under the pen name Jehan Tabourot (1519-1593). The song was published under the title “Brandle de l’Official.” George Ratcliffe Woodward (184801934) added the words and first published the Christmas carol in 1924. Woodward wrote several carol books and had an interest […]

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Christmas Song: The Hallelujah Chorus

The Hallelujah Chorus is the most well-known portion of Geroge Frideric Handel’s “Messiah”. Handel used the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter to compose his text. The “Messiah” was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742. The “Hallelujah Chorus” is at the end of part 2, which concentrates on the Passion of Jesus. This portion has become a […]

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Christmas Song: The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy

I have found two different stories for this hymn. The first states it is believed “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” was written Jamaican singer-songwriter Oswald Dunbar sometime in the early 1960s. Legend states he adapted the lyrics from an earlier Jamaican folk song “Livvy’s Song” to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The text follows the story as […]

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Christmas Hymn Story: In Dulci Jubilo

“In dulci jubilo” means in sweet rejoicing in Latin. The original text is believed to have been written around 1328 by Heinrich Seuse, a German mystic. According to folklore, “Seuse heard angels sing these words and joined them in a dance of worship.” The tune first appears in a manuscript dating around 1400. Many historians believe the melody may have […]

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Christmas Song Story: Mary’s Boy Child

Mary’s Boy Child is a popular Christmas carol written in 1956 by Jester Hairston. Hairston roomed with a friend who asked him to write a song for a birthday party. He wrote the song with a calypso rhythm for the culture of those attending and titled the song “He Pone and Chocolate Tea”. However, the song was never recorded in this […]

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Behind the Hymn: A Great and Mighty Wonder

A great and mighty wonder is a little-known Christmas Carol.  The hymn is German in origin. The hymn was written by St. Germanus I. He was born in Constantinople of a patrician family in 634 Greece. He was ordained in Constantinople and subsequently became bishop of Cyzicus. He was present at the Synod of Constantinople in 712, which restored the […]

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Behind the Christmas Song: A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol was written and composed by Charles Ives in 1897. The song appeared in his collection 114 songs which was published in 1922.  He self-published these never before seen songs.  By the early 1920s, he decided to publish more than 150 abandoned compositions. Charles Ives was born in 1874 in Danbury, Connecticut. His love of music was inherited […]

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