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
42 minutes
2 years ago
Joy to the World
For our last episode of the season, we’re blasting “Joy to the World” a carol that for many is synonymous with Christmas, but which has almost nothing to do with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
The prolific hymn writer, Isaac Watts, first penned “Joy to the World” after Psalm 98, which reflects the joy that followed Jewish deliverance from exile. But as a carol, it anticipates the second coming of Christ.
As for the iconic tune, that is set by American music director, Lowell Mason, who borrows the melody from the regal masterpiece of George Frederick Handel’s “Messiah.”
Colin Britt returns to the podcast to explain this carol’s musical journey, and Dr. Cecilia González-Andrieu helps us interpret its meaning through the lens of theological aesthetics and eco-theology.
Cecilia’s latest book: Bridge to Wonder: Art as a Gospel of Beauty
We also want to thank Christopher Walker, Matthew Pierce, Daniel G. Stocker, Smoking Bishop, Sasha Samara, Juan Carlos Quintero, Red Mountain Music, Heather Dale, and the Ignatian Schola for the music on this episode. And to Barbara Rowe, who allowed us to play music from the collection of her late husband Bryan Rowe.
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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.
