Music Study: In the Bleak Mid Winter (youtube link included)

The Cedar Tree wearing a wintry mantle of white, 2014

In the Bleak Mid Winter

By, Christina Rossetti

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.

In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,

Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;

Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,

The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;

But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,

Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3FwwnLvELw

A Holiday Assignment

     Oh, the blessedness of a true work borne out of a true heart! Giving opportunity to your dear children to spend time with a master and his work is a worthy pursuit. The heart of the writer, the composer, the painter is surely seen in his work. As Tomas Carlyle said, "Genuine work done faithfully, that is eternal." 
     Handel's Messiah has stood the test of time. It is a work worthy of your attention. My copy is The London Philharmonic Orchestra and choir , conducted by John Alldis, 2002.

Mr. Handel’s Messiah

Assignment: Listen to each tract, then place a check on the provided line. Next, using the Strong’s Concordance and your Bible, locate and list the verse that Mr. Handel put to music.

Disc One

1. Overture _____
2. Comfort Ye My People _____
3. Every Valley Shall Be Exalted _____
4. And the Glory of the Lord _____
5. Thus Saith the Lord _____
6. But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming _____
7. And He Shall Purify _____
8. Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive _____
9. O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings To Zion ____
10. For, Behold, A Darkness Shall Cover The Earth ____
11. The People That Walked in Darkness _____
12. For Unto Us a Child is Born _____
13. Pastoral Symphony _____
14. There Were Shepherds Abiding in the Field _____
15. And the Angel Said Unto Them ____
16. And Suddenly There Was With the Angel _____
17. Glory to God ____
18. Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion _____
19. Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind be Opened _____
20. He Shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd _____
21. His Yoke is Easy, And His Burden in Light _____
22. Behold the Lamb of God _____
23. He Was Despised _____

Disc Two

1. Surely He hath Borne Our Griefs _____
2. And With His Stripes We Are Healed _____
3. All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray _____
4. All They That See Him Laugh Him to Scorn _____
5. He Trusted in God that He Would Deliver Him _____
6. Thy Rebuke Hath Broken His Heart _____
7. Behold, and See if There be any Sorrow _____
8. He Was cut off Out of the Land of the Living _____
9. But Thou Didst Not Leave His Soul in Hell _____
10. Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates _____
11. How Beautiful are the Feet of Them _____
12. Their Sound is Gone Out Into all Lands _____
13. Why do the Nations so Furiously Rage ______
14. Let us Break their Bonds Asunder ______
15. He That Dwelleth in Heaven _____
16. Thou Shalt Break Them _____
17. Hallelujah! _____
18. I Know That My Redeemer Liveth ____
19. Since By Man Came Death _____
20. Behold, I Tell You a Mystery _____
21. The Trumpet Shall Sound _____
22. Then Shall be Brought to Pass ____
23. O Death, Where is Thy Sting? _____
24. But Thanks be to God _____
25. If God Be For Us, Who Can Be Against Us? _____
26. Worthy is the Lamb _____