In The Bleak Midwinter - Holst - Tenebrae conducted by Nigel Short
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- Our recording of Holst's 'In the bleak midwinter' is released as a single, with all proceeds donated to Cancer Research UK. Please visit lnk.to/InTheBleak and download the track to support this cause which is particularly close to our hearts. Tenebrae's Director, Nigel Short, received a cancer diagnosis and underwent major surgery in 2022. He says:
“ I was unexpectedly diagnosed with bowel cancer, which was a real shock for me, my family and everyone around us. The NHS responded quickly, getting me in for a successful operation within a few weeks of my diagnosis, and I’m pleased and relieved to say that I’m now officially in remission. We wanted to do something to support the amazing work that Cancer Research UK does to support everyone affected by cancer. Christmas can be a particularly difficult time for those who are fighting the disease themselves, and for those who have recently lost a loved one or are caring for friends and family. All proceeds from downloads of 'In the bleak midwinter' will be donated to Cancer Research UK. Please consider downloading it today to support the vital work that this wonderful charity does every day of the year.”
If you love this track and would like to hear more, our latest Christmas album In Winter’s House is available in our online shop and on all major streaming platforms. lnk.to/inwinte...
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Sopranos: Isabella Gibber, Rachel Haworth, Hannah King, Rosanna Wicks
Altos: Amy Blythe, Elisabeth Paul, Anna Semple, Joy Sutcliffe
Tenors: Jacob Ewens, Nicholas Madden, Tom Robson
Basses: Joseph Edwards, Simon Grant, Thomas Herring, Thomas Lowen
Director: Nigel Short
Filmed at St Bartholomew-the-Great, London in November 2022
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm an 81 year old Canadian retired Pastor, and it is the Solstice this evening. Winter in Manitoba is always "the bleak midwinter" and the mood of the earth this holiday is also bleak and sad, yet this wonderful sung reminds us that God came into our bleakness to bring us hope and love, and I am so grateful for these beautiful people who brought this old hymn alive when I needed it the most!
Please remember that you are not alone! And that Heaven is watching over you in the midst of this bleakness, and will keep you safe and warm. The Holy Spirit has a way of always beginning again with us even when we are content to settle for the ending. ❤
May you have a joyful Christmas that is peaceful and warm.
I'm with you on both the singing, and Winnipeg midwinters! I had two of them as a grad student (U of Manitoba), then fled to California to complete my degree, and learn to surf! Both boxes checked. One thing I learned in Manitoba winters: against snow, shadows show as blue, not grey! As of course they should - scattered skylight is blue. I lived with the Ukrainian community; a most wonderfully welcoming and hospitable group. More decades back than I care to say!
Manitoba home of the best wheat in the world , being a baker of many years , this grain was always mixed with English wheat crops to make a decent bread flour , Merry Christmas to you Barry from UK
God bless you, Pastor, from Toronto. I used to live in Fort Churchill, so Manitoba has a precious place in my heart. ❤
It is Christmas eve day in Ohio. As the wife and I get ready to join with family later on this evening, I decided to take some time to myself and listen to some of the beautiful songs of the season. Mostly because I can't take any more Mannheim Steamroller or Pentatonix, or that it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I need the music that penetrates the soul, and awakens the heart. I crave the simple classic hymns that I heard in the womb, the songs that I sang with the choir as we struggled to learn our parts with a week to go before singing in from of others. I remember singing in a small church choir, and praying that that first note that comes out of my mouth was on key. I always felt that we could have done better, and that we were terrible. But afterwords the people that came up and told me (us) how beautiful we sounded convinced me of one thing - that God interceded. God was in the words and notes that we sang, and God was between our mouths and their ears. They only heard what God wanted them to, not what we thought they were hearing.
It goes without saying that your pitch was near perfect, tempo was kept throughout, breathing was excellent, and the discipline was fantastic. But what WE heard was God. The translation through God that made my heart hear yours.
God bless you, and Merry Christmas from across the pond in Ohio.
You do realize that none of this is real? We made it all up to cope with the knowledge of our own mortality. There is no god.
It's a comforting thought, but we've come a long way in the past 100 years.
Your parents lied to you. They planted a seed which took root when you were too young to ask rational questions.
God bless, Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas peace unto you and your family
Well stated . I just came home from Candle Light service and for the last 50 years I have had the above thoughts as I climbed down from the Choir loft. Thank-you .
Christmas day in New England. Beautiful music in sharing with my sister, first in Charleston 30 years ago. This performance at St B's is exquisite. She and I visited there last May.
I am a 72 year old retired musician with a lifetime of amazing musical experiences, but I have NEVER heard such a moving performance in my life!! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THIS PERFORMANCE!! ** BRAVO**!!
It’s tearful in its beauty.
Kudos
I'm 65 and still play.my instrument for many years, I love both voices and instruments
Then we shouldn't go to church, because it was built by humans. We shouldn't wear clothes, have cars, or anything else made by man. That is a very silly reason. God gave us brains to make things since the beginning of time, including instruments!
Singing in cathedrals is always so impressive. They built them to resonate and the sound of human voices is incredibly amplified in these spaces. These singers blend so well and have no vibrato, which helps with blending. Brings back so many memories. So beautifully done.
I love this. So free of Christmas-time frantic behavior.
This was so beautiful!! There is nothing in the world like a well rehearsed, well coordinated and conducted choir who sings with heart and meaning. There is a magic about a choir like this, when everything is in sync. Only those who have been in it or in a band can understand I think--I watch them watching him and him drawing out that music as if the whole choir were a single instrument, but with individual living, breathing, interpreting parts who all sing their own song but it's part of a larger whole. There is nothing in the world like this. I hope Nigel is doing well. Thank you for this!
A capella brought tears to my eyes ...
Purity and wonder and humility. This is what this beautiful carol speaks of. Thank you
The purity and gentleness move me to tears. Thank you
Always gets me with “give my heart”
This rendition makes me weep. Nothing more need be said. Thank you.
This version possesses such purity and simplicity and is faithful to the spirit of the Carol. It is stunningly beautiful. thank you.
This beautiful song holds a special place in my heart. My high school has closed their Christmas concert with In The Bleak Midwinter for 50 years. Each and every year, the current graduating seniors, all hold a lighted candle as they sing. And the choir alumni from years past that are in attendance, surround the auditorium and sing along. Such a magical, and emotional moment. Thank you for sharing such wonderful voices on such a song. ❤
That would be such a sight to see! I wouldn't be able to stop crying if I was there!
@@weeksman87 That sounds amazing. It is such a beautiful carol.
What a lovely tradition. ❤
Speaks to the soul
What a beautiful & touching tradition 💗
In the bleak midwinter, a stable place sufficed, the Lord God almighty, Jesus Christ.
So beautiful, hoping a Merry Christmas to all who believe and those who don't
A beautiful carol. How can it not be with Gustav Holsts 'Cranham' providing a beautiful setting for Christina Rossetti's poem.
Took this 48 year old American to hear this for the first time watching the show Ghosts. How was I robbed of such soulful beauty all my life. And especially for all the Christmas Eve’s and mornings. This version brought tears to my eyes, as it sang directly to my humanity, my heart, my soul. Thank you.
Ah, I see we can from the same show...
I've Come here after the "bleak midwinter" was mentioned several times on the show peaky blinders.
omgooodnessss me too!!!! thats how i found out bout song and cried like a freaking baby!!!!!
The best Xmas carol, although they don’t do exactly this version on ghosts, annoyingly. Glad more people are discovering it, it isn’t Xmas til I’ve heard a Salvation Army brass band and choir sing it in the street!
I first heard it sung on the show, "The Crown." Thank you British TV!
I first heard this choral rendition about 2 years ago. Think it is the most beautiful arrangement ever. I've been the pianist at a Catholic Church in Berkeley, California for 22 years. Have wanted our choir to sing it at Christmas time, but some felt it isn't "religious" enough.
My wife Angela passed away on October 29th this year (we were 32 years together.) Our
choir finally sang it this Christmas.
Deepest sympathies to you. I'm RC and to say that this sublime hymn is not "religious" enough is crackers. People like that have never heard of Christina Rossetti and know nothing of her life.
In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.
Exquisite antique language; the English tongue. Robin Witting England
These sacred lyrics represent the true meaning of Christmas, without the awful commercialism.. Many thanks for posting them.
Thank you for posting the lyrics. I hear the beautiful melody but due to hearing loss, I have difficulty, even with hearing aids, to understand the lyrics.
Thank you. ❤️
❤❤❤❤
As an SDA member, I love acappella and this is so soothing.
Even though it is a few weeks past Christmas Day i am listening to it as it snows outside in Texas. Very beautiful song.
This version is glorious, nonpareil. Profound thanks for posting it.
We had the privilege of hearing the full Tenebrae Choir at St David’s Cathedral, Pembrokeshire a couple for months back. A great Master Chorister conducting and a great choir. Happy Christmas everyone! :)
in Wales?
I love seeing them in their everyday clothes. Sometimes it's easy to forget that musicians of this caliber are people too.
Was just about to type something along those lines too. They look fresh.
There was no heat in the church - so, it was quite natural and honest apparel which, indeed, suited the occasion :)
My late husband, Morley--now over 22 years [seems like yesterday!] had every church choir he conducted memorize this piece. When this selection showed up on my youtube feed this morning, I was able to STILL sing along with them! Now at 73.5 yo, it's STILL in my brain's memory banks!!! What a choice piece to have been embedded in "there!" ;) Thank you for posting this, Tenebrae Choir!!! Mega kudos to you all from me!!! 💖💖💖
Exquisite proof that you can have a beautiful sound *and* still sing through the consonants, such as "n".
In Eastern Orthodox Churches, the services are sang exclusively a cappella because the human voice comes from God, whereas musical instruments come from man. This is why, I think, we resonate with choir music so much; it touches our soul.
Scripture says to praise Him with instruments. (Psalm 150)
Voices come from air causing the vocal cords to vibrate
@@drewmog123456 And our vocal cords are a creation of God. Just as the laws of logic which you are now using in an attempt to refute my argument.
@@rhahnabunaid No! Our vocal chords, just like our eyes, feet, bones, hearts are a result of two million years of evolution.
@@drewmog123456 I hope you're aware that you're using something that transcends the physical (logic) to try to convince me that human existence is purely physical. It's a self-refuting argument.
There is just no substitution for the depth and meaning found in the hymns of old. This was so beautifully done. Thank you.
Yes. the exquisite poetry by Christine Rossetti stands out.
Faith and strength are in there when the heart rests in god. AMEN.
So very true... I love hymns so much. Their lyrics and melodies move me to worship God!
Wonderful. I give Him my heart too. What an awesome Saviour we have in Jesus Christ.
One of my favourite carols. Beautifully sung by Tenebrae. Thank you so much. A blessed and happy Christmas to all of you 😊
Beautiful! Beautiful song, beautiful singing… truly heart warming … 💖💥🕊🙏Blessings from Poland.
With respect, this is heavenly music. So pure and completely in harmony.
I walked down the ice-covered streets of London humming this the other day.
Nice experience
write the words from the heart and the music writes itself and we are all blessed by its creation
Unbelievably beautiful. How can people sing so perfectly?
This choir is an absolute gem. If you get a chance to see (hear) them live, drop everything else and just go. You will not regret it.
I just saw them in Seattle a day ago, unbelievable, hundreds of people there in a huge Cathedral St James. What an experience
@@fredgarv79 Thank you both!
Thank you again, Tenebrae. 3:49 minutes of hope, peace and tranquility in a very troubled world. Happy Christmas!
So so beautiful.
Wonderfully sung as to tone, pronunciation, consonants, togetherness. British singing at its best of one of our most wonderful British composers.
Well I never knew Holst was British! Thanks!
This is beautiful! Pure, simple and humble. Just as Christina Rossetti intended in her original poem. I particularly like the last verse which ends with "yet, what can I give him?
Give my heart." It sums up what Christmas should be. Giving the greatest gift of all: the gift of love.♥️
Holst did the best music arrangement too. Thanks to all you wonderful singers, I'm going to have to put up our Christmas tree now!
♥️🤣🎄
I agree totally. Many choirmasters prefer the Darke tune because it is much more flashy and the choir can show off... Pure, simple and humble - exactly right. The poem and its sentiment gets completely lost in frills and furbelows of the Darke tune.
I have always loved this song
Pure, Wholesome, and Edifying. Thankful for music like this to help think about Jesus Christ.
Just learned about this song today, and then came across this version online. Such a beautiful song! In Christ, Andrew
Childhood, school, my parents proud of me, an innocent excitement for Christmas. All gone. Just this most beautiful of all carols, performed here in the most beautiful way, to transport me back to those glittering times.
Selective memory? Perhaps. Was it real? Definitely. As real as these tears now.
🎄🥰
I'm not Christian, but was raised Presbyterian. I take such comfort yet from the hymns and carols that I grew up hearing ❤ This is the most beautiful version I have heard.
I, too, was raised Presbyterian (with visits to Methodist, Mennonite and Lutheran institutions), and consider myself a Christian atheist (someone who still attempts to follow Christs example, but no longer believes in an all-powerful creator). And I also take comfort from hymns and carols. This song always touches my soul.
You both are welcome back home.
Don’t turn away and harden your heart to Christ, as God will give you exactly what you want, His absence from your life. Turn to Him. He loves you and is waiting for you to come.
@@phillipwarner4498 holding you in my prayers. Blessings.
Brought me immediately to tears. Glory to God for your sharing this!
Yes. Me also.. the wonder and worship created in me by this lovely carol. I am so thankful for the words , the music , the director and the singers.
For me, the essence of perfect Christmas Music .
This brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for recording this
same
@@adopt-a-pet-istanbul Me Too
Same!
This song reminds me so much of being little and singing
I love this beautiful song I am always singing it when doing my housework it's the best Christmas carol ever wrote merry Christmas to everyone listening to it in 2023 god bless you all Shirley h Darlington England 💝⭐💘🌹✌️
I agree 100% along with It Came Upon The Midnight Clear ❤️🔥
Purely, simply. Surely Beauty shall save the Earth!
I CAME LOOKING FOR THIS SING today 14/4/2023 at 7:48PM BECAUSE I WAS FEELING SO DOWNCASTED..THIS SONG KEPT PLAYING IN MY HEAD AND I HAD TO COME LISTEN..PURE PEACE😌
14 isnt a month what 🤣
This choir, under the direction of of Nigel Short, performed this lovely Holst piece exquisitely. Thank you.
Speedy healing to Nigel Short. I had intestinal cancer twice, and doing just fine (except for the ruination of my liver and spleen by the chemotherapy). As always, Tenebrae knocks it out of the park. I love this carol. I adapted the theme to a piano composition I did two years ago for Christmas. I'm going to get this download because of the charity that it benefits.
oh , merci beaucoup !
You made my "little" heart beat faster..
Kisses from France.
I wish a speedy recovery to Nigel Short and wish you all a Merry Christmas !
I've always played the piano to accompany christmas songs we sang in the family (me, my sister, our parents and our grandparents)
This year I've lost 3 of my 4 grandparents and we'll be singing christmas songs only with parents and the mother of my mother.
I chose in the bleak midwinter as what I want to play this year. Because it is indeed a bleak midwinter.
Christmas time has gone, the magic of your art still remains. Thank you, Tenebrae!
We sung this for our advent concert..ALL of the moms cried!
Listen to the lyrics. The Lord is closer than ever to bringing His new earth to us all. 🙏🏻
This might be my favorite Christmas carol! The harmonies and the touching emotion within the words... are just,...wow!!
I was singing the tenor part as I listened!
A very beautiful song, with an exceptional interpretation, that led me to pray. Thank you!!
Why is it that perfect harmony makes me weep??
It hits a sweet spot, dunt it?😊
Voice of an Angel, listen to this , is like I had been transported to A Holy Realm
Thank You 'Nigel Short' And The Tenebrae Choir For This Beautiful Christmas Gift Of Music ❤
Wow these are some of the tightest harmonies Ive heard, love the natural acoustics of English Churches, one of my all time favourite Christmas carols.
My thoughts and prayers to Nigel, the family, and Tenebrae. So happy to hear that he's in remission!
As far as the song is concerned, this is absolutely stunning; what a way to start the holiday season. Thank you so much for the music you all put out! :)
My favourite hymn from schooldays
Watching and enjoying this in May. 😳
Wishing Nigel all the best in his recovery.
What happened to the poor ol chap?
@@dr.johnwatson2503 It sounds like he had some kind of GI cancer.
❤Such a lovely Song, I have crying eyes, each time I hear it.
Simply Marvelous!!!
And that dear folks is how it is done. Perfect tone, excellent diction, thank you to all. Never heard this gorgeous carol sung better. A truly spiritual experience to round off the Christmas celebrations. Happy new year everyone. RevDev
❤❤❤❤
Just beautiful!
Mr. Short does a beautiful job. I love that every word can be understood, often not the case with choral music .
In tropics but woke thinking of this beautiful song this morn...bless my soul A Savior is Born! Chist the Lord! Bless u...Everyone!❤
So incredibly beautiful! The song of angels echoing here on earth. A blessed Christmas to all.
Utterly gorgeous .. lovely lovely lovely 🥰🥰🥰🥰
This song is so powerful 🥹 I can feel it in my soul and they sang it beautifully.
This is such a lovely performance of the Holst setting of Rossetti’s simple and profound hymn; music and lyrics are wonderfully matched and the musicians do them justice. I listened to this since it was first posted and it is, to me, the best rendition. Thank you so much.
I wish I was a good singer, I’d have loved to be in a choir, beautiful
This is the most beautiful version of this song above all other groups. It touches my soul with its humble deep beauty! Thank each and every one of you.
This carol speaks to my English soul. Wonderful rendition.
Oh my word! It's a wonderful song.....Always loved it in the season of Winter. My other favourite is Past 3 o'clock "on a cold frosty morning....." etc. What an amazing rendition of this carol/seasonal song/ whatever it was originally written for. Thank you so very much. xxxxxx
It was originally a poem by Christin Rosetti, published in 1872.
Bravo. From the first few notes I could tell this was going to be beautiful and excellent. Just the right blend of voices, setting, lighting, and acoustics. Wonderful. Thank you to the conductor too. There's something amazing...at the highest level of humanity...when many voices sing as ONE voice. So unique a sound.
For some strange reason, this carol never impressed me - until I heard it sung on the series “The Crown.” Now it’s one of my favorite carols, and this performance is exquisite! Thank you, and Merry Christmas to all! 🎄🎁
something about the last verse just hits me
What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb
If I were a wise man, I would do my part...
Thank you Tenebrae! My favourite carol. Happy Christmas!
In this time of war and peace, through the sadness and joy of the people, this sound reminds me that we are all human beings; it sends me back to fragility, and to life, which comes and goes. In this Christmas season, my mind wanders back to those days of existence, in which I was in tune with the joy of the past, which, however complicated and difficult, will always be the best, if we have a light with us, a candle who guides us in the darkness of these complicated, desperate days of history. As Scrooge would say: Merry Christmas; and God bless you!
Christina Rossettis sacred Christian words are met and enhanced by Holsts hymn tune written a century later to create one of the greatest hymns ever fit for the ages in its timeless spiritual symplicity
Beautifully sung
One of the most sublime solo voice performances of this is by the late Dan Fogelberg. It never fails to leave me in tears.
Beautiful & Best wishes to Nigel!
Absolutely beautiful.
Beautiful
You warm my heart on a cool Autumn morning. Thank you
Absolutely breathtaking. Chills.
This is angelic.
Absolutely angelic.
God at work.
I've already watched this dozens of times.
Their voices are a warming fire in this cold winter.
Thank you very much for this!
The Christmas season provides us many wonderful hymns, but this may the greatest of them all. Superb performance, and best wishes to Mr. Short.
When beautiful words are wedded to beautiful music
A lovely carol, the first verse always makes me think of a painting by Breughel of a mediaeval winter scene.
Oh wow! Stupendous. Perfect.
In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron
Water like a stone
Snow had fallen
Snow on snow, snow on snow
In the bleak midwinter, long, long ago
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ
Enough for Him whom cherubim
Worship night and day
A breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay
Enough for Him whom angels fall down before
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore
Angels and archangels may have gathered there
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air
But only His mother in her maiden bliss
Worshiped the Beloved
With a kiss
What can I give Him
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man, I would do my part
Yet what I can, I give Him
Give my heart