Here is a beautiful choral piece by an amazing composer, Lajos Bardos. It is in Hungarian, and has that type of salvic-folk feel. The lyrics are about the Christ child being warmed by the virgin arm and lovely, warm face of the Blessed Mother on the night of his birth.
There are many interesting stories about this composer. One is when Budapest was when it was occupied by the Nazis, just before it was finally declared a communist country. The people were not allowed to sing Christian music, yet it was almost Christmas even. The already well-known conductor/composer, now teacher, rebelled in a subtle way, because he knew that music was the key to uniting the people, and helping them to remember what mattered most. They were permitted to sing of Israel, ironically, since the Nazis put to death "between 20% and 40% of Greater Budapest's 250,000 Jewish inhabitants" from 1944 and early 1945." The song he conducted one cold, dark evening before Christmas? Veni, Veni Emmanuel. I imagine it was most likely Kodaly's version, since Bardos was very much a student of Kodaly (as well as he was inspired by Bela Bartok). The story continues that as the choir sang, many, many Jews from outside on the street came in to the church to listen. (In Advent, look for this version of Veni, Veni in the upper right hand margin of this blog.)
+Requiescent in pace, dona ei requiem.+
Here is a Karácsonyi Bölcsődal, "Christmas Lullaby":There are many interesting stories about this composer. One is when Budapest was when it was occupied by the Nazis, just before it was finally declared a communist country. The people were not allowed to sing Christian music, yet it was almost Christmas even. The already well-known conductor/composer, now teacher, rebelled in a subtle way, because he knew that music was the key to uniting the people, and helping them to remember what mattered most. They were permitted to sing of Israel, ironically, since the Nazis put to death "between 20% and 40% of Greater Budapest's 250,000 Jewish inhabitants" from 1944 and early 1945." The song he conducted one cold, dark evening before Christmas? Veni, Veni Emmanuel. I imagine it was most likely Kodaly's version, since Bardos was very much a student of Kodaly (as well as he was inspired by Bela Bartok). The story continues that as the choir sang, many, many Jews from outside on the street came in to the church to listen. (In Advent, look for this version of Veni, Veni in the upper right hand margin of this blog.)
+Requiescent in pace, dona ei requiem.+
+ Some personal comments: This song makes me weep, not just for the many Jews killed in the holocaust, among them also Catholics and so called "gypsies" and whomever else fell prey to the Nazis, but it makes me weep mainly for the potential loss of souls, most particularly those Jews that reject Christ. It makes me weep because many have rejected Christ because they do not know him, and they do not understand what it is the Church truly teaches. It makes me weep because of the hand we have had in this, to one degree or another, either by not knowing the faith when we could have found a way to learn it (but not always), or by not being faithful to the graces given to us, or both.
ReplyDeleteLord, have mercy on us all!