First, my inner Anglican has to apologize—technically this final track is not a Christmas song but an Epiphany song. However, I’ve attempted to appease my Anglican spirit by pushing this to the very end of my series, looking forward to Epiphany as we say goodbye to Christmas.
Many of you are probably unfamiliar with this hymn, but you’re no doubt quite familiar with another carol written by the same author, William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898). It was he who gave us the classic “What Child Is This?” Interestingly, I read that he wrote many of his hymns confined to his bed as a young man with a near-fatal illness. “What Child Is This” came from that period. This song came from an even earlier period of illness, when he was only 22. Strange to think that we could have been brother and sister. It certainly goes to show how the quality of writing in the younger generation has declined down through the years. Just take a look at the last verse:
Holy Jesus, every day
Keep us in the narrow way.
And when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds thy glory hide.
You might recognize the melody. It was written a few decades before Dix by Konrad Kocher and is better known as the tune to “For the Beauty of the Earth.”
This recording by the Haven of Rest Quartet is the only professional “artist cut” of the hymn that I know of (i.e., besides faceless chorale singers). It’s very hard to find, so I put it onto my Youtube channel. The quality could be better, but the arrangement shines through despite the graininess. The album it comes from (Sounds of Christmas) is one of my all-time favorite Christmas records, and I think you’ll see why I consider this track essential. Trivia tidbit: Long-time member and arranger Walt Harrah sings the tenor solo. Harrah is the writer of the David Phelps sugar stick “No More Night.”
Enjoy, and thanks for coming along on this series with me!
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