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The choir singing is B.A.S.I.C. from Central United Methodist Church in Waco under the direction of Karen Hogue.
Many know G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) for his
Father Brown mysteries. But he was also a prolific essayist, a writer of Christian apologetics, and of poetry. The text for
Weary is the Night was written under the title of
A Christmas Carol. It was first published in a collection,
The Wild Knight, in 1900.
The shifts in mood in this poem were powerful stimulation for my musical imagination. Layers of tenderness, the futility of the human condition, and the divine hope present in the vulnerable God Incarnate interact with the musical, often chromatic, text-painting of this composition.
Here is the text:
A Christmas Carol
G.K. Chesterton (1900)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world’s desire.)
The Christ-child stood on Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.
Here is
another performance of the same piece by a church in Michigan. The director there is Greg Scheer, a good friend of mine.
