Music Box
December 25, 2022
Lisa Parente, soprano
Jubal Joslyn, tenor
Cathryn Wilkinson, organ and piano
Story of A Carol
The words of “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” were written in 1739 by Charles Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism. He called the poem “Hymn for Christmas-Day” and the opening line was “Hark how all the Welkin rings.” Welkin is Middle English for the dome of the sky and related to German Wolken, or clouds. There is a further German tie to this beloved English hymn, in that a voice teacher at the Royal School of music adapted a tune from Mendelssohn’s Gutenburg Cantata, written in Leipzig in 1840, and named it “Mendelssohn.” The version we sing today to the tune “Mendelssohn” has become the traditional closing hymn for the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge.
Today’s Guest Musician
Welcome back to Lisa Parente! Lisa is a versatile soprano, seasoned in opera, art song, oratorio, and musical theater. She has been an artist with Opera Exposed! in San Diego, the Bach in Baltimore series, and the Union Square Concert Series. She is an Artist in Residence with Carmel Valley Manor. Lisa holds a Master’s of Music in Vocal Performance from Peabody Conservatory and a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance from San Diego State University.
