The
Carols We Love is Missing a lot of Passion
By
Kristin Battestella
Originally
published as Sounds of the Season,
this quick 2002 holiday devotional by Daniel Partner is subtitled The Story Behind the Story of Twenty Two Classic
Christmas Carols. Unfortunately, at
only 95 pages and a hefty second hand price of twenty-five cents, the wealth of
musical material possible is never fully explored.
Despite
some serious history behind carols such as Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Go Tell
It on the Mountain, What Child Is This, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, and
the titular claim to get the behind the scenes scoop; there isn’t much beyond
basic common knowledge given on the barely there two or three page accounts.
The selection of songs is seemingly random, with We Wish You a Merry Christmas
among more recent or fringe and increasingly obscure carols such as Lo How a
Rose E’er Blooming, Let There Be Peace on Earth, and The Little Drummer
Boy- which receives four pages of a
fable repeating the song’s exact tale. If we are going with global, far
reaching, or contemporary, where are In the Bleak Midwinter, Mary Did You Know,
Deck the Halls, I Saw Three Ships, or hello God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen? The
included carols aren’t in any order- be it by date, county of origin, or even
alphabetically. Half of the spotlight is taken up by lyrics that also carry no
rhyme or reason. Some are a complete
verse and chorus, but others, sadly, are the most famous quick refrains. It Came upon a Midnight Clear’s 5 verses are
completely omitted, Joy to the World is the chorus only, O Come All Ye Faithful
offers no Latin lyrics, and Away in the Manger is only four lines. The Carols We Love would have increased
its shelf life ten fold had it simply given all the lyrics and music and made
itself a multi-faceted songbook. Instead, a brief devotional or story is
attached with an often unrelated verse and random prayer.
It
sounds horrible to say such things, I know. Unfortunately, there seems to be no
explanation for the layout here. The opening musical bar of each tune is also
included, but it often cuts off mid measure, breath, and note. Why bother
unless you were going to go with a full-blown playable accompaniment? Suffice
to say, if you’re looking for an extensive choir book or coffee table tome with
detailed musical annotations and information on the origins of such timeless
carols as Silent Night, O Holy Night, or O Come O Come Emmanuel, you won’t find
it in The Carols We Love. Forget
lyrics in other languages or even the composer or dates in some cases; with
such a massive topic, an entire series of devotionals could have been done with
blocks of carols paired from around the globe and thru the centuries. Why not a
spiritual and meaningful Chicken Soup
type collection of famous folks each saying what a particular carol means to
them? The possibilities in revisiting why we sing the same Christmas carols
year after year are endless, but The
Carols We Love somehow missed everything but the bare minimum. Sure, some of
our crèche classics have obscure beginnings or anonymity behind them, but that
in itself is a tale to tell and others have really great multicultural and
medieval stories to share. Perhaps this is all expecting too much of a decade
old ‘value book’ that originally retailed at ninety-nine cents. However, if
you’re seeking any kind of mature religious depth, historical insights, or
adult scholarly into the origins of our Christmas melodies, The Carols We Love can only be a
disappointment.
Nonetheless
and all that aside, if The Carols We Love
had expressly geared itself toward a youth audience instead of a desperate
reach for devotional blasé, there could be some potential here. Young and budding musicians or an elementary
Sunday School Christmas reading and discussion might work for these simplistic
tales. The passages are still all over the place in information, character,
lyrical analysis, or lack thereof, but a better Biblical companion reference,
musical prayer, or questionnaire worksheet would go a long way. The profiles as written are definitely thin
and totally impersonal, but one classroom question at the end of each carol
might have made all the difference. Like the Magi, what gift would you
bring? How do you keep Christmas if you
have a family member in the military? How will you make room in your heart for
Jesus this December? Instead of going thru the motions, The Carols We Love could have really struck a holiday heartstring
or educational, songful explanation.
Otherwise, a quick adult read over a few days can leave one feeling cold
and without meaning at Christmas- and for a believer interested in this kind of
book, Christ is certainly not either
of those things.
I
feel so harsh! Negatively writing on an innocent devotional that I’d like to
think had some honest intentions even if the execution was flawed. Perhaps The Carols We Love isn’t all that bad. For readers of Advent
devotionals, those interested in the musical subject matter, or ones hoping to
bring carols into the classroom in an easy, simple manner, this quick session
has its own superficial meaning. It’s
passionless, far too brief, ill prepared, and has an undefined audience, but
one can find a piece of his own redeeming merit in The Carols We Love.
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