O Magnum Mysterium
I’ve shamefully adapted much of the text below from Wikipedia.
O magnum mysterium is a responsorial chant from the Matins of Christmas. It has an associated plainchant melody, and in this form has been sung since the middle ages. However, the text has appealed to many composers over the years. Many of the most notable composers of the renaissance made settings, including William Byrd, Jacob Clemens non Papa, Cristóbal de Morales, Palestrina (article on the setting) and Tomás Luis de Victoria. The famous version below is by Victoria, who went on to publish a mass based on his motet in 1592.
Latin text
O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
iacentem in praesepio!
O beata virgo, cuius viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Iesum Christum.
Alleluia!
English translation
O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the newborn Lord,
lying in a manger!
O blessed virgin, whose womb
was worthy to bear
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
Painting of the Nativity scene, by Hans Baldung (1520)
I always associate Victoria with a much loved uncle who, sadly, died at the age of 60—he gave me a record (!) of Victoria’s music when I was a boy. For contrast, here is Palestrina’s setting. This very famous setting merits its own article at Wikipedia: O magnum mysterium (Palestrina):
And we finish with a lively psalm setting by Adrian Batten:
Good Morning Mark
Merry Christmas!
I want to pass on a YouTube video and a brief review of a movie I watched last night in my covid isolation chamber.
First, here's a link to the video...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9QIlYIoDBk. I found it after watching the excellent O Magnum Mysterium video which you posted.
I'm pretty much a fallen Christian but I clicked on this video and have been listening to it in in front of the fireplace in the quiet pre-dawn hours. I must say that it has a magical quality...also suggesting some of the mystery and wonder of human life...which I suppose is basically what the celebration of the birth of Christ is all about...Thanks for pointing me in this direction.
The movie I watched last night is called Downfall. https://www.amazon.com/Downfall-English-Subtitled-Bruno-Ganz/dp/B078HJD3PK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=KCYFZANT5XMY&keywords=downfall+movie&qid=1671979054&sprefix=downfall%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-1
Maybe you have seen it. Its a 2005 German production portraying the last 10 days or so of Hitler's life. It was largely applauded when it came out, although some complained that it was too sympathetic to Hitler, because it showed his kindness to Eva Braun and his staff and the children in his bunker. I think the comparison between his small kindnesses and the extreme criminality and evil of his actions perhaps paints a more realistic portrait of this man.
But the one aspect of the movie that I'd like to call your attention to is that during the entire movie the Russian armies are beating down on Berlin and it is absolutely, 100% clear that when they arrive the Germans will pay in spades with interest for their war of aggression against the (then-) Soviet Union. I have this suspicion that (contrary to the spin projected by our US propaganda) the (slightly more passive-aggressive) aggression of the West against Russia over the last several decades has created huge animosities in Russia.
I watched a talk segment yesterday where one 'expert' commentator said that Lindsey Graham had better be careful what he wishes for when he calls for Putin to be 'taken out'. This commentator said there is an element of the Russian Deep State that abhors the West (and the arrogance of the West) and that if things get existential the Russians' hatred for the West will explode. It will be like the deadly Soviet assault on Berlin in 1945. Or worse! Hitler and many of his officers knew what was coming and committed suicide.
I only mention the foregoing because it seems to me that Lindsey Graham and our little neocons 'safely' ensconced in Washington and throwing around billions of dollars worth of lethal weapons are playing a game of Russian Roulette (pun intended) that could go very badly for them. In fact, John Mearsheimer thinks so! For what its worth, he doesn't see an easy way out. Watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBiV1h7Dm5E
In many respects I don't really care who wins or what happens in (and within) Ukraine. I just observe that it is an extraordinarily dangerous situation which could trigger an extreme reaction by a nuclear power which has demonstrated a capacity for a ruthless response to Western aggression within the living memory of some of our surviving elders. (I appreciate the irony that I am comparing Hitler's aggression against the Soviet Union to Bush/Obama/Biden's aggression against Russia...but your mileage may differ...)
On that happy note: Carpe Diem! Enjoy the day!
Merry Christmas Mark!