November 29, 2008 12:35 PM
Advent hymns
I love hymns. I love the intelligence and the poetry. I love the way they give melody to our theology, voice to the longings of our hearts, and specific praise to Our Creator.
People often ask how our family produced so many good singers. My answer: in the formative years, we got up and began each day by singing hymns. I like to think that if any time of trouble, my children would remember and be comforted/encouraged/strengthened by the hymns they learned as children.
Click on these links to hear the hymns our family sings for Advent:
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
This is my favorite:
Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying. It's a bit different and I love the intricate German melody.
Cyberhymnal is a great site for you to bookmark, offering over 6000 hymns and gospel songs - including not only words and music, but the history of each hymn and picture of the composer.
This is a great way to begin familiarizing your children with traditional church music and to give them the stories behind the great hymns.
We also use the following book/CD resource, which introduces children to twelve carols and shares the stories behind each one, including fully orchestrated versions of the carols with children's voices:
Posted in Advent, Christmas, Music | Permalink
