A Thrill of Hope
By Alexa Pedersen
O Holy Night
Placide Cappeau & Adolphe Adam, 1843;1847
O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope- the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
O Holy Night is a reflection on the miracle of Christ’s birth and a call to respond in worship. The song also has quite the vocal range, allowing virtuosos to showcase their gifts and talents. As a musician, I love picking up on musical cues that are meant to imitate and emphasize the message of the song.
Let me give you an example of how NOT to do this. In the treasured hymn How Great Thou Art, our contemporary Christian sensibilities want so badly to start the first verse soft and reflective, build to a moderately full second verse, then cut back on the first half of the third verse (or bridge) to contrast the build to the end of the song. Think about some of your favorite modern Christian songs. There are subtle variations on this, but most of the time things chill out about three-quarters of the way through the song and crescendo to the end. But what are the lyrics in the first half of verse 3 of How Great Thou Art? “When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation…” Does that seem like the appropriate time to sing softly and reflectively? No! The word “shout” gives it away. You want to sing boldly about the second coming of Christ! Sorry, modern musicians, but the standard template doesn’t work on this song.
So, let’s assume that the musical structure of O Holy Night accurately follows where the text leads. (Spoiler alert: it does). What is happening in the lyrics when the singer is maxing out the capacity of their lungs and hitting those delicious high notes? (Think Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Carrie Underwood, etc.)
FALL 👏 ON 👏 YOUR 👏 KNEES 👏
CHRIST IS THE LORD!
THEN EVER! EVER PRAISE WE!
O HOLY NIGHT! O NIGHT DIVINE!
Shout it from the rooftops, guys! Hear the angels singing in celebration! We were pining away in our sin and error, but a new and glorious morn is breaking! What an absolute thrill of hope! Behold your king! Do you realize what this means?? ALL oppression will CEASE. ALL OF IT. The Messiah is here, and we are saved! Praise his holy name with everything we’ve got! Proclaim his power and glory forever more! The world just changed forever on this one night. What a holy, divine night!
REFLECTION:
Take some time to carefully read through the lyrics of this hymn. Write down 3 things that stand out to you about the language used, the message, or any questions you have.
Read Romans 6:1-13. Write down a few observations about the passage. What do you notice? Do you see any ways in which this passage relates to the song?
Do you tend to prioritize praising God during the Christmas season? How so? How could you prioritize offering worship to him?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: