O Holy Night
“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
Yonder breaks a new and glorious morn…”
While still considering which cover songs to include on Wintertide, "O Holy Night" tugged on my sleeve. The words, the original melody, the accompaniment, the dynamics… “O Holy Night” is about as classic as classic can be. There's a reason we still sing this song. There's a reason so many artists have recorded it. There's a reason it still brings tears to my eyes hearing it live--despite having heard it so many times before. If I had to pick a favorite Christmas carol, "O Holy Night" would be it.
However, setting the carol next to everything I had written and already recorded for this album--setting it side by side with the other tracks--made me uneasy. The other songs felt like neighbors, but this one didn't. I didn't know where I would place it in the song list...
So I had another idea.
For as long as I can remember, Sara Groves’ songs have been good friends of mine. "Painting Pictures of Egypt", "I Saw What I Saw", "Maybe There's a Loving God", "It Might Be Hope", "Floodplain"... She has a song for every season of the heart, and phrases from her songs run through my thoughts all the time.
She has a couple of Christmas albums herself (and I highly recommend them), and on one of these albums, she included her own arrangement of "O Holy Night". At this point, having listened to it so many times and having sung it so many times, I love Sara's version as much as the original.
(I know, right--how can that be?! Well, it's just beautiful.)
While the melody and style may be different, the heart of the song remains the same. That is my favorite thing about new arrangements of hymns and carols...
The words remain the same. The heart remains the same. The thing that changes is the setting of the story, giving it a new voice without really changing very much.
Like a new light on an old, beloved conversation.
Recording Sara Groves' arrangement of "O Holy Night" has given me the chance to share a different version with you, to highlight the work of another artist I love and possibly introduce you to her library, and still include my favorite classic in an unexpected way.
I hope you enjoy this different version!
All the love,
Brittany