Barry's Blog

Last Christmas well-known recording artist James Taylor released a Christmas CD that was only available through Hallmark Gift Stores. Some of you may have heard this remarkable CD, which has some of the most well known carols of the Christmas season. One of those carols that continues to powerfully move me is titled, In the Bleak Mid-Winter, a well-known hymn from the British Christmas tradition. The hymn is based on a traditional Celtic folk song, but  is an original composition.

What many people do not realize is that the melody to the hymn was composed by Gustav Holst (1874-1934), perhaps best know for his orchestral masterpiece, The Planets. Holst's melody, Cranham (named after the town in which it was written), was set to a poem written by English poet Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), In the Bleak Mid-Winter was first published in The English Hymnal in 1906, and has always been one of Holst's most popular compositions. The beauty and simplicity of the folk song greatly inspired Holst, May the hymn's lyrics serve as a personal meditation for each of us at this Christmastime.

    "In the bleak mid-winter,
     The frosty wind did moan.
     The earth stood hard as iron,
     Water like a stone.
     Snow on snow had fallen,
     Snow on snow on snow.
     In the bleak mid-winter,
     Oh, so long ago.

    Angels and archangels,
    They have gathered there.
    Cherubim and seraphim,
    Rising in the air.

    But only his mother,
    In her maiden bliss,
    Worshipped the Beloved,
    With a mother's kiss.

    Heaven cannot hold Him,
    Or can earth sustain,
    Heaven and earth shall fall away,
    When He comes to reign.

     What then can I give Him,
     Empty as I am.
     If I were a shepherd,
     I would bring a lamb.
     If I were a wise man,
     Oh, I would do my part.
     What then can I give Him,
     I must give my heart." 

    For FinishingWell,

    Barry Morrow