Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols
America Media
20 episodes
9 months ago
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The cookies, the mistletoe, the lights...oh, and the music! For Christians, Christmas carols mark a season of hope and the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Even in popular culture, these iconic jingles capture a warmth, a cheer and a nostalgia that transcends religious belonging.
But where do these beloved yuletide songs come from? What inspired the people who composed them? How did they become popular and even mainstream? And what impact do their ancient Christian messages have on an increasingly post-Christian culture?
America Media presents “Hark!” a podcast on the meaning and the making of our most beloved Christmas carols and their time-honored traditions.
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The cookies, the mistletoe, the lights...oh, and the music! For Christians, Christmas carols mark a season of hope and the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Even in popular culture, these iconic jingles capture a warmth, a cheer and a nostalgia that transcends religious belonging.
But where do these beloved yuletide songs come from? What inspired the people who composed them? How did they become popular and even mainstream? And what impact do their ancient Christian messages have on an increasingly post-Christian culture?
America Media presents “Hark!” a podcast on the meaning and the making of our most beloved Christmas carols and their time-honored traditions.
Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols
43 minutes
2 years ago
Good King Wenceslas
We’re traveling to bitter-cold Bohemia to dig deep into the story of a 10th-century duke turned king turned saint: Good King Wenceslas. The legend of Wenceslas’ generosity and faith has reverberated throughout time, but it wasn’t until 1853, that the prolific Victorian hymn writer, John Mason Neale, wrote the lyrics and paired them with a jaunty 16th-century festival song: Tempus Adest Floridum. We’re joined by two modern day music legends: Catholic liturgical music composer, Christopher Walker, and Terre Roche of The Roches! Fr. James Martin, S.J., also joins the podcast to offer his theological take on his favorite version of Good King Wenceslas—performed by The Roches.
Special thanks to Terre Roche of the Roches for her exclusive acoustic version of our featured carol, and to Molly Cahill, Francis Tuson, Fae Tuson and Ricardo da Silva, S.J., who recorded vocals especially for this episode.
We would like to thank Nancy Dahn and Timothy Steeves of Duo Concertante (featuring Christine Carter), Matt Isaac, Firjii, OCP and The Ignatian Schola for providing snippets of “Good King Wenceslas” heard in this episode.
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Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The cookies, the mistletoe, the lights...oh, and the music! For Christians, Christmas carols mark a season of hope and the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Even in popular culture, these iconic jingles capture a warmth, a cheer and a nostalgia that transcends religious belonging.
But where do these beloved yuletide songs come from? What inspired the people who composed them? How did they become popular and even mainstream? And what impact do their ancient Christian messages have on an increasingly post-Christian culture?
America Media presents “Hark!” a podcast on the meaning and the making of our most beloved Christmas carols and their time-honored traditions.
