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The Ghosts of Christmas Past

by Valentine Wolfe

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1.
Dark is the even Yet is the heaven Lighted and glowing around us. Shepherds arising In wild surmising Magic indeed hath found us! Fair roses growing Mid winter’s snowing Who hath the vision beholden? Yet, o’er the meadows Through midnight’s shadows See! How the sunlight is golden! Over His dreaming Radiance is streaming Flooding the desolate manger In Mary’s keeping Soft He is sleeping Held in her arms from danger From God descended Ragged, untended Birds in the branches above them Warmer are biding Safe in their hiding Clothed by the hands that love them Melodies ringing Angels are singing Songs all around us are swelling Sun of the morning Tender thy dawning Darkness and ill dispelling
2.
Let all mortal flesh keep silence, And with fear and trembling stand; Ponder nothing earthly minded, For with blessing in His hand, Christ our God to earth descendeth, Our full homage to demand. King of kings, yet born of Mary, As of old on earth He stood, Lord of lords, in human vesture, In the body and the blood; He will give to all the faithful His own self for heavenly food. Rank on rank the host of heaven Spreads its vanguard on the way, As the Light of light descendeth From the realms of endless day, That the powers of hell may vanish As the darkness clears away. At His feet the six winged seraph, Cherubim with sleepless eye, Veil their faces to the presence, As with ceaseless voice they cry: Alleluia, Alleluia Alleluia, Lord Most High!
3.
In the bleak midwinter, Frosty wind made moan Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone Snow had fallen, Snow on snow, snow on snow In the bleak midwinter, Long ago Angels and archangels, May have gathered there Cherubim and seraphim, Thronged the air Only His mother, In her maiden bliss Worshipped the beloved, With a kiss What can I give him, Poor as I am If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb If I were a wise man, I would do my part What can I give Him, Give my heart
4.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die For poor lonely people like you and like I I wonder as I wander, out under the sky. When Mary birthed Jesus twas in a cow’s stall With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all But high from the heavens a star’s light did fall And the promise of ages it then did recall. If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing A star in the sky or a bird on the wing Or all of God’s angels in heaven to sing He surely could have it cause He was the King.
5.
Sweet baby sleep, What ailes my dear? What ailes my darling thus to cry? Be still my childe, and lend thine ear To hear me sing they lullaby My pretty lambe, forbear to weep; Be still my dear, sweet baby sleep! Thou blessed soul, What canst thou fear? What thing to thee can mischief do? They God is now they Father dear, His holy spouse thy mother too. Sweet baby then, forbear to weep; Be still my babe; sweet baby sleep!
6.
When He is king, We will give him the king’s gifts Myrrh for its sweetness and gold for a crown Beautiful robes, said the young girl to Joseph Fair with her firstborn on Bethlehem Down Bethlehem Down is full of the star light Winds for the spices, and stars for the gold Mary for sleep, and for lullaby music Songs of a shepherd by Bethlehem fold When He is king they will clothe Him in graves sheets Myrrh for embalming, and wood for a crown He that lies now in the soft arms of Mary Sleeping so lightly on Bethlehem Down Here He has peace and a short while for dreaming Close huddled oxen to keep him from cold Mary for love, and for lullaby music Songs of a shepherd by Bethlehem fold
7.
Down with the rosemary and bays Down with the mistletoe Instead of holly now up-raise The greener box for show Thus times and seasons oft do shift Each thing his turn doth hold New thoughts and things now do succeed As former things grow old The holly hitherto did sway Let box now domineer Until the dancing Easter day Or Easter’s Eve appear Then youthful box which now hath grace Your houses to renew Grown old, surrender must his place Unto the crisped yew When yew is out, the birch comes in And many flowers beside Both of a fresh and fragrant kin To honor Whitsuntide Green rushes then and sweetest bents With cooler oaken boughs Come in for comely ornaments To re-adorn the house
8.
Gaudete 03:14
Gaudete! gaudete Christus est natus Ex Maria Virgine: Gaudete! Tempus adest gratiae, Hoc quod optabamus; Carmina laticiae Devote redamus. Deus homo factus est, Natura mirante; Mundus renovatus est A Christo regnante. Ezechielis porta Clausa pertransitur; Unde Lux est orta, Salus invenitur. Ergo nostra concio Psallat jam in lustro; Benedicat Domino: Salus Regi nostro.
9.
Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child By, by lully, lulla, thou little tiny child By, by lully, lullay O sisters too, How may we do For to preserve this day, This poor youngling For whom we do sing, By, by lully, lullay Herod the King, In his raging Charged he hath this day His men of might, In his own sight All young children to slay That woe is me, Poor child for thee And ever mourn and sy For this parting, Neither say nor Sing By, by, lully, lullay
10.
Morning Hush 03:10
Morning hush First a blush Faintly telling Day is welling Down the glades Flee the shades Through the meadows Speed the shadows Yet in vain For again Come the even All the heaven Loses light Turns to night Fades from splendor Pale and tender Brighter light Burns at night What a wonder Burst asunder Night unmade Where a maid Bears a blossom At her bosom Holy morn God is born Heaven’s treasure Without measure Poured on earth At His birth Night for ever Gone for ever Here is news None refuse Crowns of gladness Changed for sadness Joy for shame Since He came No more sorrow No tomorrow All today Sing and pray Sing His praises Ask His graces All is bright All is light On the seven Roads to Heaven

about

Musically, we challenged ourselves to write an entire work with only my double bass and Sarah’s voice. I’ve been fascinated with the notion of using delay and reverb (short for reverberation, meaning an audio effect that mimics physical space) to create musical ghosts, that is, music that plays itself and exists as its own shadow.

And with the dark nights of December upon us, it seemed we had the perfect opportunity to conjure up our ghosts. They are mostly traditional songs, but Sarah wrote her own melodies for three of them, and all of them have been manipulated to create our own spectral atmosphere.

So turn the lamps down, light a candle, and lock your doors. There will be time enough for the bright songs of the morning to bring comfort on Christmas Day. But on this dark eventide, the bumps in the night are not reindeer…

credits

released December 6, 2015

Sarah Black: Vocals
Braxton Ballew: Double Bass

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Valentine Wolfe Greenville, South Carolina

Two morbidly fascinated musicians combining ambient solo bass, brutal distortion, electronica, and 18th century opera to tell a story of the macabre.

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