Thursday, December 19, 2013

Once in Royal David's City

"Once In Royal David's City" is a Christmas carol originally written as poem by Cecil Frances Alexander. The carol was first published in 1848 in Miss Cecil Humphreys' hymnbook Hymns for little Children. A year later, the English organist Henry John Gauntlett discovered the poem and set it to music.^[1] Cecil Alexander, meanwhile, married the Anglican clergyman William Alexander in 1848 and upon her husband's consecration became a bishop's wife in 1867.^[1] She is also remembered for her hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful.

Since 1919, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at the King's College Chapel Cambridge has begun its Christmas Eve service, with Dr Arthur Henry Mann's arrangement of "Once in Royal David's City" as the Processional hymn.^[1] Mann was organist at King's between 1876–1929.^[2] In his arrangement, the first verse is sung by a boy chorister of the Choir of King's Chapel as a solo. The second verse is sung by the choir, and the congregation joins in the third verse. Excluding the first verse, the hymn is accompanied by the organ. This carol was the first recording that the King's College Choir under Boris Ord made forEMI in 1948.^[3] Among others who have recorded it are Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Chieftains, Daniel O'Donnell, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Petula Clark, Jethro Tull, Sinéad O'Connor and Sufjan Stevens.

http://youtu.be/_ZFpLvWbows

http://youtu.be/I87hqhxKfbg

BOOGIE WOOGIE - email jksw

This presentation only lasts for three plus minutes.

You don't hear boogie woogie like this much any more, and never likely have you heard it played on twin pianos.

Hope you get a three-minute kick out of this rare musical presentation. Just click on the piano below:

"Dancin' The Boogie" - by Silvan Zingg Boogie Woogie Piano ♫ ♪

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QQzbCmlZM4

World Dance Sport Games 2013 - Rock'n'Roll Final

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGdvJn2hhd8

O Little Town of Bethlehem

http://youtu.be/71ppzuPARXg

"O Little Town of Bethlehem" is a popular Christmas carol. The text was written by Phillips Brooks (1835–1893), an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. He was inspired by visiting the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his church and his organist, Lewis Redner, added the music. Redner's tune, simply titled "St. Louis", is the tune used most often for this carol in the U.S.^[1] but in the British Commonwealth, and sometimes in the U.S. (especially in the Episcopal Church), the English hymn tune "Forest Green" is used instead. "Forest Green" was adapted by Ralph Vaughan Williams from an English folk ballad called "The Ploughboy's Dream" which he had collected from a Mr. Garman of Forest Green,Surrey in 1903.^[2][3] Adapted into a hymn tune, it was first published in the English Hymnal of 1906.

Another version by H. Walford Davies, called "Wengen" (or sometimes just "Christmas carol"), is usually performed only by choirs rather than as a congregational hymn. This is because the first two verses are for treble voices with organ accompaniment, with only the final verse as a chorale/refrain harmony. This setting includes a recitative from the Gospel of Luke at the beginning, and cuts verses 2 and 4 of the original 5-verse carol. This version is traditionally used at the service of Nine Lessons and Carols in Kings College, Cambridge.^[4]

William Rhys-Herbert included a new hymn-tune and harmonization as part of his 1909 cantata, Bethany.(Wikipedia).

http://youtu.be/AteU4QUAQo8

http://youtu.be/19rL_8W3oRU

http://youtu.be/GWhXM9mpJQE

A loaded gift - email from jksw

A man gifted his wife a diamond

necklace for their anniversary.

The wife didn't speak to him for 6 months.

Why? Was the necklace FAKE?

Nooooo! That was the deal :)

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Cleaning fruit

Friend of mine forwards this to me and I (should) treasure it very much(if I was a fruit eater)because I (really) don’t know how to clean fruits nowadays; I mean how to wash away the chemical on the fruit. (That’s important!)

'We three Kings of Orient are'

http://youtu.be/71ppzuPARXg

"We Three Kings", also known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The Quest of the Magi", is a Christmas carol written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the lyrics and the music. It is suggested to have been written in 1857 but did not appear in print until his Carols, Hymns and Song in 1863. John Henry Hopkins, Jr., then an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church,^[1] was instrumental in organizing an elaborate holiday pageant (which featured this hymn) for the students of the General Theological Seminary in New York City in 1857 while serving as the seminary's music director. In 1872 Hopkins was ordained an Episcopal priest and later served as rector at Christ Episcopal Church (Williamsport, PA).^[2]

http://youtu.be/a8XKEvClA-k

http://youtu.be/Lx35_DRIZ8g

http://youtu.be/sJpecRI_0wY

The illusionist, Hans Klok - email jksw

The illusionist, Hans Klok, was challenged in Holland to show what he could do in 5 minutes. I hope you enjoy this amazing spectacle.

The show that you are to see is unique in the world. The cost of entry per person is ¤150 from 5th back row. You'll be in front line and seeing the show for free... Enjoy...

http://www.flixxy.com/worlds-fastest-magician.htm