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So fun that you have started listening to Christmas carols! 🎶 Christmas and family go together. I hope you feel much peace as you choose your carols and sing your hymns! Music does bring so much solace to our souls. It would be a dream to come to Great Britain and perform. We love it there! Such beautiful surroundings, people and history. We hope to meet you someday as well! Dreams can come true!

All things come of thee! Indeed, Indeed!

I am so happy! What a great song to have singing in your head! 🎶

Thank you Brenda.🌸🙏

So glad your surprise worked out so well! So sorry your other planning was delayed, but it sounds like you added a beautiful part to the service. Thank you for sharing! “All things shall work together for good to them that love God.” (Romans 8:28)

Hope you enjoyed it! 🌺

Thank you! So glad you like it! 💛🎶

Thank you so much Dan! 🌺🎶

I was watching this last night and welled up. I just came back from meeting up with my dad, he has Alzhiemers and while I was was out I remember thinking he always needs someone to watch over him , a Shepard. I also thought there but for the grace of God I go. It just made me well up.

Thank you for posting these inspiring words so others can follow along. Such a beautiful song. 🎶

Nice to hear from you Stephen. So sorry to hear of the loss of your brother. Hope you find much peace and comfort through our Savior Jesus Christ. It sounds like you are doing many good things to keep your mind and heart turned towards God. Carry on!

​@thesmithensemble4053 I'm not sure but Howard Goodall did a version of Love Divine

How kind of you! Thank you! 🎶🙏🎻

Thank you Sarah! 🌸🙏

You are so welcome. So grateful for your kind words. 🎶🌸

Thank you so much David! 🎶

You are so welcome !@@thesmithensemble4053

Good idea! We could put them in the notes for now if that would be helpful.❣️

Thank you! 💛🎶

Thank you for your kind comment! So grateful you were able to enjoy your favorite hymn. It is definitely a favorite of ours as well. 🎶😊🙏

Hi Stephen, so grateful you enjoyed our rendition of The First Noel arranged by our friend, Jared Pearce. Yes. We did include some of our older grandchildren this time. We have nine now! Soon to be 11. How quickly they grow! Hopefully you can enjoy singing with the recording. 🎶We remember singing Candlelight Carol years ago with our church choir. (I may have mentioned that we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.) You can’t go wrong with Rutter! Hope this year is full of blessings for you. 🙏Thanks for your support! -The Smith Family

@@thesmithensemble4053 The Candlelight Carol has perhaps helped me to deal with a sense of grief and bereavement. My older brother passed away almost three weeks prior to Christmas. Turned it into a somewhat bittersweet period of time for me. I actually had a part to pursue in his funeral service as well. I was taken unwell shortly before Christmas itself. I wasn't sure if I would be in my church choir for the Christmas Eve service - this time about. My brother's funeral was on the 4th of this month of January. I have recovered but I felt different. I took a few days away from Bristol immediately after the funeral service. Spent it at Wells. I spoke at my brother's funeral. Not easy to do so! But I felt I had to do so! The second verse of the Candlelight Carol featured in my words. As a Church Chorister of the Church of England - I did so! I think that you know the words of that - well! It was appropriate. Those at the service told me that I had chosen well! It's still early days for me! But going away for a few days immediately afterwards was essential to do so! It's not going to be easy to face the rest of it. Grief needs to take it's time. I intend sorting out a holiday break for later in this year. I'm exploring possibilities for that. In the meantime, I will continue to serve as a Church Chorister in St Martin's Church in Knowle in Bristol. The Chorister Prayer also figures there - as well! " Bless - O Lord, us thy servants who administer in thy temple ! What we may sing with our lips, we make believe in our hearts and what we may believe in our hearts -may we bring forth into our lives. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen" I may have gotten it slightly incorrect! But the gist of it! Continues to inspire me!

Thank you for that! Christmas last December was a little bit different for me. My older brother suffered a stroke in 2021 and was left in a depleted condition afterwards. About several weeks before I heard your version of the First Noel carol. He passed away on the 6th of December of last year. It left me in a bittersweet period over the Christmas period and indeed, I was taken unwell for a few days before the main services. Wasn't sure if I was going to rebound from that. In time. Thankfully, I did do so! But the funeral service was dated to the 4th of this month of January of this year! And I had been both dreading it and fearing it - as well! I was going to have to speak at it. I did - but it wasn't easy! I drew on my knowledge as a Church Chorister and using words from the Candlelight Carol by John Rutter - I coped.. I also went off immediately from that service to get out of Bristol for a few days. I chose to go to Wells and spent two hours on the Friday morning of the 5th January in the Cathedral. I sat in the Quire area of it for reflection. I had a lot of contemplating to do. It was about then ! I heard your " First Noel " carol. I was impressed with it. Of course, I know how traditionally it goes. It was one of these things that put it into perspective and I have always liked it! So thank you for that version. It helped.

I am starting to look at Christmas Carols and I hope that I get to do Rutter's ' Candlelight Carol ' this year - it's in the consideration pot for this year's Christmas Services at St Martin's. I know it fairly well! And I very much want to do it this year - especially with connection with the 6th December of this year! It's where I would much like to do it! And I would want to. I guess the last 8 months have been ones that has tested me! It doesn't mean that I am ignoring the other Carols- not in the slightest and I'm looking forward to one carol which I definitely enjoy the bass line of - O Little Town of Bethlehem ! That traditional carol remains a big favourite of mine at Christmas. There's a second version of it that's sung in the USA if memory serves! So I do know both versions. Two traditional Carols ' In the Bleak Midwinter ' and 'Silent Night ' were popular with Soldiers in both the Allies and German armies during WW1. Often these two Carols were sung from the front lines of trenches. Which must have produced a unique harmonising over the battlefield. Though British Soldiers would oft sing ' Silent Night' as well over the Christmas periods of 1914 and 1915. Competition by song and not by bullet, shell or bomb. Hmm! Something to think about! I'm sure that will be fascinating to you guys ! These truces at Christmas would barely last a couple of hours. I should add that both high commands put a stop to it in 1916 and 1917. And although cordial wishes were exchanged from both lines - it ended Christmas truces during wartime conditions.

So sorry about the loss of your brother. May you feel peace and comfort from our Savior Jesus Christ. 🙏🌹 Thank you for your kind words. Hope you had safe travels.

Thanks for that! I do appreciate it! Bit late for saying so.

You are so right. I apologize for my late response. I thought I had responded and realized I hadn’t. Thanks for your forgiving heart.

@@thesmithensemble4053 So sorry! I meant myself. In return of my thanks. I still appreciate it.

So kind of you. Thank you!🙏🌸

Thank you! 🎄🎶

Thank you Kathy! 🎄🙏🎶

Thank you Christian. ❤️

You are so welcome. So grateful you enjoyed it! 🌻🙏

I hope you are able to learn it and sing along! Love your optimism! Amazing Grace. 🎶How sweet it is. 🙏

What a beautiful hymn to have playing in your head. Thank you for your kind comment! 🎶

Thank you Mark for your kind words. So grateful you enjoy our music. Sorry the links weren’t working. We need to update them. Thanks for the heads up. If you would like a CD we can arrange that!

I would not quibble at a CD of your compilation of all that you have done over the years. Come to think about it. I might have the perfect title for it. " Light of Life " you certainly do that!

So glad you enjoyed it Kimberlee! Thank you for your kindness. So nice to hear from you. 💛

Thank you for listening and sharing your kind thoughts! 🎶❣️

Thank you Grace! Love you so much! ❤️

Thanks for your kind words. So happy you are enjoying our music. 🎶😊❣️

So glad you like it! It’s a favorite. 🎶. You are so welcome. 🎶🥰

Thank you for sharing your kind thoughts. So grateful you are enjoying them. We are filming a new one today for Christmas! 🙏🌺

Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it. 🎶🙏🌻

Thank you Stephen! Glad this passed with you! 😊🎶

We will have to check that one out. Thanks for the recommendation. We love this Howard Goodall arrangement. 🙏🌻

So glad you approve! You are so right about changes! And since recording this my next son’s voice has also changed. Only one boy soprano left in the family. Thankfully we have some grandchildren who can join in with the high sopranos.

@@thesmithensemble4053 Howard Goodall did a version of Love Divine which I believe could work very well for you. An American Choir did it in Wells Cathedral on the Sunday of the 9th of this month. I rather like it as well! A similar approach to the 23rd Psalm version by him. You did it much credit for that! I believe that Love Divine by Goodall could also do so for you as well! Oh and there are You Tube versions. For you to have a look at and listen to. I am humming it on the bus going home.

I love this! You are good with improvisation! So glad he helped that stressful situation. A calming voice amidst the storm. 🌻🎶❣️

That’s is interesting. We might just have to find and hear that film score. It must be similar because this setting of this text was written for the movie “17 Miracles”. 🎶 *you must have a huge library of music in your head to make that connection.

@@thesmithensemble4053 Actually! I am a bit of a Sci-fi enthusiast. Over 40 years as a Star Trek enthusiast. But generally speaking I have kept track on Sci-fi series and films. But the chorister in me - confirms that part of that anthem does feature in 2012.. I've got quite the long memory of this..! And 2012 I have seen. Many times.

That’s terrible! So sorry. Hope it went away!

@@thesmithensemble4053 Farrington Gurney between Bristol and Wells. Has a farm shop and in the summer months. There's Cows, Pigs, Sheep and Chickens and I am afraid that can have a devastating effect on one's nose! The A37 runs right through the village there. ! And that , I am afraid, is that! It's a terrible thing to endure..!