Merry Christmas to All

Originally published 24-Dec-18

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope you all have a good, safe and blessed holiday.  I wrote the song, “Mary’s Gift” in honor of the gift of Jesus that Mary gave to the world through her faith and trust in God.  You may Listen on Spotify or buy it from my store.

Mary's Gift CD Cover Artwork

Mary had these words to say as recorded in The Canticle of Mary, the Magnificat, from Luke 1:46-55:

My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid;
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name;
And His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear Him.
He has shown might with His arm,
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of His mercy
Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.

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Deutsch/German Version – George Frideric Händel Hallelujah Chorus

Originally published 17-Apr-2017

Just because I could, I did this:

Hier sind die deutschen Texte zu meiner Aufnahme von Händels Halleluja.  Lassen Sie mich wissen, wenn Sie irgendwelche Fehler sehen.

Here are the German lyrics to my recording of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.  Full text of German and English are below.  Let me know if you see any errors.

 

German Lyrics

Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja
Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja

Denn der allmächtige Herrgott regiert
Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja
Denn der allmächtige Herrgott regiert
Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja
Denn der allmächtige Herrgott regiert
Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja

Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja
Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja
(Denn der allmächtige Herrgott regiert)
Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja

Denn der allmächtige Herrgott regiert
(Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja)
Halleluja

Das Königreich dieser Welt;
Ist geworden
Das Reich unseres Herrn,
Und von seinem Christus
Und von seinem Christus

Und er wird für immer und ewig regieren
Und er wird für immer und ewig regieren
Und er wird für immer und ewig regieren
Und er wird für immer und ewig regieren

König der Könige für immer und ewig Halleluja Halleluja
Und Herr der Herren für immer und ewig Halleluja Halleluja
König der Könige für immer und ewig Halleluja Halleluja
Und Herr der Herren für immer und ewig Halleluja Halleluja
König der Könige für immer und ewig Halleluja Halleluja
Und Herr der Herren König der Könige und Herr der Herren

Und er wird regieren
Und er wird regieren
Und er wird regieren
Er wird regieren
Und er wird für immer und ewig regieren

König der Könige für immer und ewig
Und Herr der Herren Halleluja Halleluja
Und er wird für immer und ewig regieren

König der Könige und Herr der Herren
König der Könige und Herr der Herren
Und er wird für immer und ewig regieren

Für immer und immer und immer und immer
(König der Könige und Herr der Herren)

Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja Halleluja
Halleluja

English Lyrics

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

For the lord God omnipotent reigneth
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
For the lord God omnipotent reigneth
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
For the lord God omnipotent reigneth
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
(For the lord God omnipotent reigneth)
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
For the lord God omnipotent reigneth
(Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah)
Hallelujah

The kingdom of this world; Is become
The kingdom of our Lord,
And of His Christ And of His Christ
And He  shall reign for ever and ever
And he shall reign

Forever and ever
And he shall reign forever and ever
And he shall reign forever and ever
King of kings forever and ever hallelujah hallelujah
And lord of lords forever and ever hallelujah hallelujah
King of kings forever and ever hallelujah hallelujah
And lord of lords forever and ever hallelujah hallelujah
King of kings forever and ever hallelujah hallelujah
And lord of lords King of kings and lord of lords
And he shall reign
And he shall reign
And he shall reign
He shall reign
And he shall reign forever and ever

King of kings
Forever and ever
And lord of lords hallelujah hallelujah
And he shall reign forever and ever

King of kings and lord of lords
King of kings and lord of lords
And he shall reign forever and ever
Forever and ever and ever and ever
(King of kings and lord of lords)
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
Hallelujah

 

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New Music – Pop/Rock Hallelujah Chorus

Originally published 14-Apr-17

Hi Friends,

New Music – Pop/Rock Hallelujah Chorus:  I first released this recording of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus before Easter in 2017, but it has become pretty popular and I think it is also good to play during the Christmas season.  Enjoy!

I am releasing today as a single my own pop/rock instrumental arrangement of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, in the style of someone like Mannheim Steamroller. You can get your copy either directly from my music store or it is available from Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play or other on-line digital music sites.  It also streams on Spotify! A copy of the score is available for anyone who would like a copy on the Sheet Music page of my website.  I created the instrumentation, played the instruments (see list below!) and recorded this in my studio.  Engineering/mixing assistance was provided by Michael Powers, “Powerhouse Studios” in Seattle!

The link to my Hallelujah Chorus video is right here. You can also find it on Youtube…see below! 🙂

I hope you like it. Have a blessed Easter.

Background Info:

The Hallelujah Chorus is very popular at Christmas time, but I think it is just as appropriate during Easter, and maybe even more fitting from a theological point of view. The back story is that I have been working on a number of Christmas-themed songs that I plan to release as an album this fall, in time for Christmas, but the work has to be done now and I don’t want to hold onto things once I am finished, so plan on seeing a fairly steady release of new music from me this year as singles. Besides, a lot of people love celebrating Christmas any time of the year. I know my daughter does, and she probably has the largest collection of Christmas music in the world.

I began working on my arrangement of the Hallelujah Chorus in late December after we attended the Seattle Symphony’s performance of Handel’s Messiah. There are probably countless performances of the Hallelujah Chorus in the traditional genre, so I wanted to do something more pop oriented and that is what you have here.

The Hallelujah Chorus is such an awesome piece and it is addictive. I want to listen to it and sing it over and over. Old GF (George Frideric) really knew how to write a “hook”. I think the power of it lies in its rhythm, which comes naturally from the words and the melody spiraling higher and higher.

Handel composed the entire Messiah oratorio in the year 1741 and he completed the entire thing in an incredible 24 days! Maybe he was a manic-depressive and got stuck in a manic mode. Who knows. At any rate, it is a brilliant masterpiece of composition and the world owes him a debt for his art.

In my arrangement I added a drum solo and moog synthesizer motif to the introduction. Below is the orchestral instrumentation on the left mapped to what I have used in my performance on the right. I played all instruments.

  • Violin 1                   Electric Guitar 1 and 2
  • Violin 2                   Electric Piano
  • Viola                       Synthesizer
  • Cello                       Electric Bass
  • Oboe                      Classical Guitar
  • Bassoon                  Electric Bass
  • Trumpet                  Trumpet
  • Timpani                   Timpani
  • None                       Drums
  • None                       Other percussion

Image of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus score dated 1741

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