After eating all of these, you are probably ready to sit back and listen to music.

On offer today is a song written by a Christian, composed by a Jew and and distributed by an abolitionist, just to keep us reminded that solidarity and coalitions are not always illusory. Caruso’s voice is a bonus…

The full version of the song contains this passage about slavery:

Le Rédempteur
A brisé toute entrave:
La terre est libre et le ciel est ouvert.
Il voit un Frère où nétait quun esclave;
Lamour unit ceux quenchaˆnait le fer.
Qui Lui dira notre reconnaissance?
Cest pour nous tous quIl naˆt,
QuIl souffre et meurt.
Peuple debout,
Chante ta délivrance!
Noël! Noël!
Chantons le Rédempteur!
Noël! Noël!
Chantons le Rédempteur!

In 1847 a French priest asked the poet/wine merchant of his village, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure, to write something uplifting for Christmas mass. His friend Adolphe Adams wrote the music. It was adopted in churches across France, and quickly, until the Church discovered that Cappeau was part of the socialist movement and Adams was a Jew. They declared it unfit for church services, but the people continued to sing it. Abolitionist John Sullivan Dwight brought it to North America where, translated into English, it was sung all through the Civil war. Wouldn’t you know it, the stanza above is more often than not dropped these days from recordings….

And when you have had more of this (although who on earth would buy a cake for $41?)

go read about truly uplifting music from Ukraine that I heard and reviewed last weekend.

http://www.orartswatch.org/cappella-romana-straddling-worlds/

Merry Christmas! Fröhliche Weihnachten!

This is all what’s left of cookies in our household….