Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful * Kenny G * HD

Details

Description

AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine;
"Wishes: A Holiday Album, Kenny G's 2002 seasonal record, is Kenny G's third Christmas album, following Faith: A Holiday Album by just three years. By now the sound was familiar: some of the carols swung, some were sweet and soothing, all are melodic, all serve as a smooth soundtrack for a festive occasion. What distinguishes Wishes: A Holiday Album from its predecessors is a slight reliance on medleys -- there are three here, including a lively blend of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman" -- but, apart from the odd sample-ridden patriotic mash-up "Auld Lang Syne (Freedom Mix)," there are no real surprises: it's all cheerful seasonal music, as familiar and cozy as an old reindeer sweater."

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems, having been written by Charles Wesley. Wesley had requested and received slow and solemn music for his lyrics, not the joyful tune expected today. Moreover, Wesley's original opening couplet is "Hark! how all the welkin rings / Glory to the King of Kings".
The popular version is the result of alterations by various hands, notably by Wesley's co-worker George Whitefield who changed the opening couplet to the familiar one, and by Felix Mendelssohn. In 1840—a hundred years after the publication of Hymns and Sacred Poems—Mendelssohn composed a cantata to commemorate Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press, and it is music from this cantata, adapted by the English musician William H. Cummings to fit the lyrics of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, that propels the carol known today.
*************
"O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as Adeste Fideles) is a Christmas carol which has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692) and King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), with the earliest manuscript of the hymn bearing his name, located in the library of the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa.
The original four verses of the hymn were extended to a total of eight, and these have been translated into many languages. The English translation of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" by the English Catholic priest Frederick Oakeley, written in 1841, is widespread in most English speaking countries. The present harmonisation is from the English Hymnal (1906). An original manuscript of the oldest known version, dating from 1751, is held by Stonyhurst College in Lancashire.

© SME On behalf of: Arista
(thanks for allowing this to remain)
"The AUDIO content does not belong to me. I do not profit from these Videos and/or Slideshows. I do not own copyrights of the images, which are from free websites. This is strictly for Educational use and Commentary purposes."
Copyright Disclaimer--"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."