As a cantor at my church (someone who leads the singing), I occasionally sing a classic hymn that just begs to be performed in a different setting. With the right treatment, it could be transformed into a moody pop masterpiece, a la Sting, or a triumphantly heavy rock tune. (If "Libera Me", from Faure's massive sounding Requiem mass, ever found its way into a Marshall stack it could easily make even the heaviest Iron Maiden run for the hills...)
So when I sang one of my favorite carols this year, "God Rest You, Merry Gentleman", I couldn't help but imagine it in a more moody setting. Not a rock setting, but something with a darker sounding harmonization that brought out the ominous nature of lines such as "to save us all from Satan's power, when we were gone astray".
Afterall, this is serious stuff, folks. Time for joy indeed, but also time to acknowledge the gravity of the situation of being saved from our sins.
So on Christmas Eve, I took my red Worship hymnal off the book shelf, found God Rest You (I always thought it was "Ye"?), Merry Gentleman, got out my trusty classical guitar and went to work. As luck would have it, the piece is in D minor, which Nigel Tufnel once proclaimed is the "saddest of all keys".
On Christmas morning, I went back to the guitar and finished off my mood-ification. A few days later, I got around to videotaping it to spread the joy. So, here's a video of me in my apartment performing it. Hope it brings you tidings of comfort and joy, and reminds you of the mystery of this amazing scene. For a long time ago, in a land far, far away, a baby was born to a virgin in "tempest, storm and wind" -- and on that night, an Angel came down from Heaven to announce His arrival and from far away kings came to bow before this child who was both a tiny baby, and also completely divine. This child would conquer death itself and open the way for man to be rejoined with his Creator in eternity. Wow! Now that's a Christmas story!
07:20, 2010-Feb-11
.. Comment by David (guitorganist)
Thanks for posting this, Bill. It's a great arrangement! Sounds like it arrived just a bit too late to sing it in your church this year - hopefully you'll get a chance next year. I've always loved this hymn - and the message gets to the real point, unlike a lot of Christmas songs that most people are familiar with. Is this something you've transcribed that you might be willing to share? Thanks again!
Hi my name is Bill Cote. I'm a writer, guitar player and singer. When I'm not writing grant proposals for forensic science research, you'll find me writing and recording music, volunteering at my Church... and blogging.
