Dec 23: Puer Nobis | Daniel McDavitt, Baltimore, Maryland

Today's posting comes from Dr. Daniel McDavitt. He is the Director of Choral Activities at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, where he conducts the Goucher Chorus and Chamber Singers, and teaches courses in musicianship. Dr McDavitt and I sang in the BYU Concert Choir during my undergraduate years. Dr McDavitt is a talented musician and I have enjoyed many of his arrangements (particularly this and this). He also has a great section of LDS arrangements.

Daniel says, "'Given, not lent, and not withdrawn once sent.' The first time I heard this carol and these first lines of text, written by 19th century English writer Alice Meynell, it stuck with me and has remained with me—not just near Christmas time, but throughout the whole year. With all the focus on gifts throughout the season, these lines more than any others convey the meaning for me of the gift of Christ. But the message of this carol goes beyond the oft-stated (and much needed!) message that 'Christ is the gift.' Indeed He is, but this text communicates nuances that are rich and powerful to me. He’s not just given to us; He cannot be not withdrawn, and He isn’t on loan either. He’s not just the Son; He is the welcome Son."

He continues, "It’s no wonder that Christmas never seems to get old, or that families around the world repeat the same traditions every year, yet they feel 'new' and 'fresh' however many times they’ve been repeated. Beloved carols don’t lose their power. Favorite Christmas poems and their meanings deepen in our hearts. Works of art bring continued moments of reflection and wonder. Readings of the same scriptures move, inspire, and reveal new understanding. We even bear the 'cold, keen winter' because we have so many sources of warmth."

"And yet it all feels so new, which is the main theme of the text and the carol. It’s as if Christ is reborn each year, and we can renew our devotion as well. Joy feels young, art feels new, and so does this gift of Christ."

Daniel concludes by saying, "Richard Rodney Bennett composed the music using mixed meters (i.e. frequently switching from one time signature to another throughout the song, rather than one time signature for the whole piece, as most Christmas carols use). This allows the music to shape around the flow of the text in a natural way, performed here with great flexibility and sensitivity by the Cambridge Singers, directed by John Rutter."

Puer Nobis

Composed by Richard Rodney Bennett

Performed by the Cambridge Singers (John Rutter, conductor)

Given, not lent,

And not withdrawn—once sent,

This Infant of mankind, this One,

Is still the little welcome Son.

New every year,

New born and newly dear,

He comes with tidings and a song,

The ages long, the ages long;

Even as the cold

Keen winter grows not old,

As childhood is so fresh, foreseen,

And spring in the familiar green—

Sudden as sweet

Come the expected feet.

All joy is young, and new all art,

And He, too, Whom we have by heart.