Advent hymns wanted

[resonant]

It's very easy to find Christmas music recordings, but you might be surprised how difficult it is to find Advent hymns.

Does anyone have a reasonably traditional choral recording of any of the following?

Prepare the way, O Zion
Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding
Savior of the nations, come
Rejoice, rejoice, believers
Watchman, tell us of the night

Come, thou long-expected Jesus (preferred tune is Stuttgart, but I'll take anything I can get)
Hark the glad sound! A savior comes
Comfort, comfort ye my people (not the aria from the Messiah but the hymn, which is sometimes called Genevan 42)
Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates (again, not the choral piece from the Messiah but the hymn, to the tune Truro)
Of the Father's love begotten (plainsong in four rather than three)



In return, I'll share the ones I do have a little later on.

(edited to add a couple more, because in several cases, after listening to the clip, I decided that what was available on iTunes wasn't even better than nothing)

Comments

[deborah-judge.livejournal.com]

I've got Handel's Messiah, if that helps.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Oh, thanks -- I have that one already, too!

[twistedchick]

Have you checked the Oxford Book of Carols? It has carol-type hymns for all seasons.

[andeincascade.livejournal.com]

I do have Savior of the nation, come and would be happy to share if you can tell me how! Love that one. May have the others, will check when I get home. I have a particular fondness for English choral recordings and thus have a lot of obscure Christmas/Advent music.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

If you have broadband, you can upload via one of the free upload services. (My favorite is Sendspace (www.sendspace.com), because yousendit requires registration and megaupload makes you look at obnoxious porn ads to get your file.) Once it's uploaded, you'll get a screen with a link, and you can come back here adn paste in the link.

If you're on dial-up, uploading will take too long to be worth it. (I'd be willing to make you a CD in exchange for you making me one, if you wanted to share your mailing address.)

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

If someone would package the Oxford Book of Carols with a CD of recordings of those carols, I'd be in heaven!

[andeincascade.livejournal.com]

I would love to make you a CD, that would be great fun. Let me dig out all the CDs when I get home and see what I can offer you. I am pretty sure I can offer you Of the Father's love begotten as well.

This sounds like fun!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Cool -- e-mail me at resonant8(_at)att(_dot)net.

And tell me what kind of stuff you like, too! I have tons of Christmas music, of course, both classical and jazz; I also have a fair amount of Renaissance music and traditional folk. Plus shaggy '70s music and ping-ping '80s music.

[domtheknight.livejournal.com]

I am ashamed to admit that I only have "Savior of the Nations Come". Paul Manz arrangement. I've been collecting Christmas carols, even though I love Advent more, and all those you listed are excellent.

(Although I think... it's possible that Of the Father's Love is technically Christmas, because at least we always sung it on Christmas, and my dad, a church musician, is a stickler for singing things at the right times.)

Anyway... I'll investigate sendspace? Unless you have a better suggestion.

[domtheknight.livejournal.com]

The link I've got is http://www.sendspace.com/file/x6dbrz

If that works, I don't mind if you link to it in your list up there. Let me know if there are any problems, I've never uploaded songs this way before.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That's very pretty.

[domtheknight.livejournal.com]

I actually found an Advent album late last night, and it doesn't have any of the other songs you listed. It does have some good ones - including Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending, which is one of my favorites ever. If you're interested in other stuff, let me know.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I'd love to hear it! I have one version of that one (Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band, very nice, and I'd be happy to upload if you like), but would always like more.

[domtheknight.livejournal.com]

Okay, it's here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/bx2gg7

It's Cambridge King's College Choir, from their procession on Advent Sunday lessons and carols album. Sadly, they don't have anything else you're looking for on the list up there, but this one has some really excellent organ - I love the organ a whole lot.

I would love to hear your version, and am looking forward to you uploading some things later; I've been looking for good recordings since you mentioned this and am not having a whole lot of luck.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Oh! A descant! It's beautiful.

Maddy's is here. (http://www.sendspace.com/file/nd9t0v) It's from a CD called "Sing Lustily and With Good Courage," which I like very much. But sometimes you just want a choir and an organ, you know?

[domtheknight.livejournal.com]

Oooh, interesting! (Good interesting.) I do think that singing lustily and with good courage is the best way, but I agree, sometimes there's nothing like the full choir and the organ and maybe a little brass...

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I haven't gotten an e-mail from you; if my e-mailer is blocking you for some reason, you can leave me your e-mail address in an anonymous message here, and since it's screened, no one will see it but me.

[domtheknight.livejournal.com]

Okay, curious as to what exactly you mean for Of the Father's Love. I've got two recorded versions which are very similar (stole them from my dad's ridiculously large music collection, but since he's a musician, I guess he's entitled). Neither of them are exactly how we sing it in church, though. They're kind of bouncy, I guess more like a dotted rhythm than straight, if that makes sense. I don't know if that qualifies for your 4 vs 3 thing. Also, the translation is slightly different, the first line going to Of the Father's Heart instead of Love. I haven't listened incredibly closely, but I'd imagine the other verses are somewhat different as well. If you want them anyway, one is by the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and one by New College Choir, Oxford. If either or both appeal, I'd be happy to upload them.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

The "Of The Father's Love" that I learned as a kid was plainsong, and we sang it with every note the same length.

The usual recordings of it have a long-short-long rhythm: O-of the fa-ather's lo-ove bego-otten, etc. Since I grew up with the other rhythm, it sounds like someone limping to me!

[domtheknight.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess we sing the plainsong version, too. The other one is, um, I would say dancey. There's got to be a plainsong recording. I'm going to keep looking.