Handel's Messiah

My family and I attended the live performance of Handel's Messiah last night at the beautiful Central Union Church. Even though it's been a 60 year tradition of performing the Messiah oratorio of the life of Christ, at that church, it was the first time for my family to attend. We plan on making it one of our new family traditions.

I wanted to share some of the photos from last night's magnificent performance since the first reading of Isaiah for the Second Sunday of Advent, is one of the more well-known pieces of the Messiah.

Tenor Recitative
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, t hat her iniquity is pardon'd.

The voice of him th at crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Tenor Aria
Ev'ry valley shall be exalted, and ev'ry mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.

Source: Messiah: The Gospel according to Handel's Oratorio, Roger A. Bullard.

Isaiah 40: 1 - 5, 9 - 11
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Source: EWTN
Of course, the best part was jumping to feet to join in the Hallelujah Chorus.

The thing that I regretted about the whole performance was that "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" was not sung.

The Angelic Voice of Angelina

"Stop wasting time and wake up to your individual faith and live each day to its fullest. Don't let anyone or anything stop you from fulfilling God's plan for you. God gives the greatest gift of all to us: life; so live your life as a gift to God." - Angelina's message to people.

I was recently privileged to have Maria, the mother of singer Angelina, contact me about her daughter. I have to admit I hadn't heard of this young singer before her dear mom emailed me. What I saw and heard made me wish I had.

Angelina is a young Catholic singer yet she has quite an impressive resume and career. She sings with the voice of what you would expect to hear in a heavenly choir. The first time I heard her voice was when I visited her website Angelina Sings. Her voice struck me in it's beauty which is beyond doubt a gift from God to Angelina and to us, the listeners.

She started singing at the young age of 9. She has appeared on EWTN's Life on the Rock, Catholic Familyland's Christmas concert, etc.. One of the highlights of her life has been to be asked to sing at the Vatican's Blessing of an outdoor nativity at Christmas time when she was only 15 years old. There she sang "Do You Hear What I Hear". It was also at this time she and her family were privileged to attend Midnight Mass where our Holy Father Pope John Paul II was the celebrant.

To learn more about Angelina's life, be sure to read her bio at her website.

Another striking thing I learned about Angelina, is that she is also a very generous person. She has donating a lot of money to various Catholic organizations.

How proud her parents and family must be of this young woman!

Here are two of my favorite songs by Angelina.

I Can Only Imagine

Hail Mary, Gentle Woman

As you may have noticed, I rarely advertise anyone's products here unless I personally feel strongly about them. In this case, I believe I would be doing everyone a disservice by not sharing about this singer with others.

One of the CD's I highly recommend is Angelina Songs of the Faithful. One of the songs in this collection is "I Can Only Imagine". The others are:

Jesus
Prayer of St. Francis
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
St. Joseph (Husband of Mary)
Love Song
Fountain of Mercy (St. Faustina)
Touched by Your Love (Tribute to Padre Pio)
The Deer's Cry (Breastplate of St. Patrick)
We Are Many Parts

Her CD's will make wonderful Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers.

If you are looking for a gift for your children, I highly recommend The Littlest Gargoyle by T.S. Hays, Illustrated by Elizabeth Huffmaster with narration and music by Angelina.

This is the story of Dedo, the littlest gargoyle who sits high atop the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and shares the story of his creator, Sister Marie Therese. I believe I will review this charming book at a later time.

The CDs and the book are all available at Angelina's website.

Thank you Angelina for sharing your gift with us!