Gesu Bambino by Pietro Yon, Duet arrangement by Deux, Vocal Duo!

I wish you all a blessed Christmastide for 2024 and give you this from last year.

I'm very honoured to have Angela Malek as a reader of this blog. Angela is a wonderful singer who recorded a lovely Christmas album with Crystal Jarrell Johnson in 2019. I was to post about it then, but something happened just before Christmas that year—a foul wind from Wuhan. Well, better late than never.

The recording includes some real gems among them, There is No Rose, which my choir will be singing before the Vigil Mass of the Nativity on the Lord, this Sunday, before Mass.

1. There is No Rose of Such Virtu, Trad./ arr. Deux

2. Veni, veni Emmanuel, Trad./ arr. Jerome Malek

3. Maria durch ein Dornwald ging, Trad. Gerald Self, recorder; Alison Fletcher, violin

4. Hodie Christus natus est, SWV 315, Heinrich Schütz

5. Laudamus Te, Gloria, Antonio Vivaldi, Alison Fletcher, violin

6. He Shall Feed His Flock/Come Unto Him, Messiah, G. F. Händel

7. Maria Wiegenlied, Max Reger

8. Ave Maria, Camille Saint-Saëns

9. Il est né le divin enfant, Trad./ arr. Gabriel Fauré/ Deux

10. Quand Dieu naquit a Noël, Trad./ arr. Claude Balbastre/J. Malek

11. Gesù bambino, Pietro Yon

The exquisite rendition of Pietro Yon's Jesu Bambino is below.

More information can be found at:

Deux - Vocal Duo, Music, Classical Musicians (deuxofficialwebsite.com)

And:

(10656) Deux - Classical Vocal Duo - YouTube

Remember, O Thou Man

O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver,

 the Expected of the Nations and their Saviour,

come to save us, O Lord our God.

O Rex Gentium

O King of the nations, and their desire,

the cornerstone making both one:

Come and save the human race,

which you fashioned from clay.

 

O Oriens

O Dawn of the East, Brightness of the Light Eternal and Sun of Justice,

come and enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

O Clavis

O KEY of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;

you open and no one can shut;

you shut and no one can open:

Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,

those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

"I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open." Isaiah 22:22

"His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and for evermore." Isaiah 9:7

 "To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." Isaiah 42:7.

O Radix

O ROOT of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;

before you kings will shut their mouths,

to you the nations will make their prayer:

Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

"On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious." Isaiah 11:10 

"A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Isaiah 11:1

O Adonai

O ADONAI, and leader of the House of Israel,

who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush

and gave him the law on Sinai:

Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

"But with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins." Isaiah 11:4-5

"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us." Isaiah 33:22

O Sapientia

O WISDOM, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,

reaching from one end to the other,

mightily and sweetly ordering all things:

Come and teach us the way of prudence.

"The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord." Isaiah 11:2-3 

"He is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom." Isaiah 28:29

Toronto readers - A "Catholic" Service of Nine Lessons and Carols!

St. Thomas More Parish of the Canadian Deanery of St. John the Baptist, part of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, presents the traditional Service of Nine Lessons and Carols with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament this coming Saturday, December 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Oratory Church of St. Vincent de Paul, 263 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto. 

I look forward to seeing some of my readers there to Make Advent Great Again!

"Let nothing trouble you." St. Theresa of Avila

 Keep your peace.

Smart commentary on Russia, Ukraine and the World

This is one of the smarter commentaries on the situation between Russia and Ukraine from any Catholic. It is honest, forthright, and historically accurate. My own view is this: Russia is not my enemy, and the United States, Canada, and the rest of NATO are responsible for this disaster.

Thank God above that Donald J. Trump is on his way.

Russia, Ukraine, and the World – A Sign of Hope