Beethovan's Ninth is one of the first recordings that comes to mind whenever I come across one of those "If you could only have one recording..." kinds of postings--and it's been a fovorite since I was 11 or 12...
Always loved the song--at home I usually heard it from an album my father had of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Sadly, most of the time it is used at Mass these days, the keyboard player really doesn't know how to play the organ properly, and the choir can't seem to pick up on the joyful nature of the song! (Or perhaps the capacity to understand 'well talking writed goodly' has been taught out of them...)
My mother requested that this be sung at her funeral. She loved it and sang or hummed it often.
Hymns of Joy seem to predominate in my family.
My husband’s grandparents, who I adored, requested Joy to the World at their funerals. When I questioned why, Grandmother C handed me her hymnal and told me to read it not as a Christmas carol but as a promise of redemption. Both my husband’s grandparents and parents were buried to that hymnal.
What a fascinating essay about one of my favorite hymns! We don't usually sing the last verse in our parish, but we have sung it when the organist decides four verses aren't too many for the impatient. As I recall it our hymnal says "hearts unfold like flowers before thee, ope'ning to the sun of love" but otherwise the words are the same.
A pet peeve about 'How Great Thou Art'.............Either no more than the first 2 verses are sung, OR, on rare occasions--verses 1, 2 and 4.............either way, never get to sing verse 3 (And when I think/that God his son not sparing/.........)
Beethovan's Ninth is one of the first recordings that comes to mind whenever I come across one of those "If you could only have one recording..." kinds of postings--and it's been a fovorite since I was 11 or 12...
Always loved the song--at home I usually heard it from an album my father had of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Sadly, most of the time it is used at Mass these days, the keyboard player really doesn't know how to play the organ properly, and the choir can't seem to pick up on the joyful nature of the song! (Or perhaps the capacity to understand 'well talking writed goodly' has been taught out of them...)
My mother requested that this be sung at her funeral. She loved it and sang or hummed it often.
Hymns of Joy seem to predominate in my family.
My husband’s grandparents, who I adored, requested Joy to the World at their funerals. When I questioned why, Grandmother C handed me her hymnal and told me to read it not as a Christmas carol but as a promise of redemption. Both my husband’s grandparents and parents were buried to that hymnal.
What a fascinating essay about one of my favorite hymns! We don't usually sing the last verse in our parish, but we have sung it when the organist decides four verses aren't too many for the impatient. As I recall it our hymnal says "hearts unfold like flowers before thee, ope'ning to the sun of love" but otherwise the words are the same.
A pet peeve about 'How Great Thou Art'.............Either no more than the first 2 verses are sung, OR, on rare occasions--verses 1, 2 and 4.............either way, never get to sing verse 3 (And when I think/that God his son not sparing/.........)