Tuesday, December 17, 2013

It cheers my heart like spirit'l wine.

I have just discovered the 18th-century hymn "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree," on this G.K. Chesterton site., where you can read good meditations on its meaning. It is thought to have been written by a New Englander, and has been set to various tunes. The most common seems to be the one by Elizabeth Poston, of which this video records a nice rendition.


The hymn has become associated with Christmas, and I'd like to add it to our own family's collection of carols, at least by next Christmas. "Under the shadow I will be, Of Jesus Christ the apple tree. "


5 comments:

yolanda said...

Thanks for sharing this.I have never heard of this hymn

Gumbo Lily said...

Now that was a lovely hymn. I'm glad you found it and shared it with all of us. I enjoyed the choir so much....starting with sopranos with the first verse and gradually adding all the others with each verse and then singly sopranos at the end. Just beautiful.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

It's lovely isn't it. We like to watch for the college choral Christmas concerts on TV this time of year; think I first heard it a couple years ago on one of those.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Gretchen...how Beautiful! Thank you for putting the words on your post; it helped enormously. Just beautiful!
BTW, I see where you've read The Glass Castle; a copy is headed my way. Did you enjoy it?

M.K. said...

I love that carol. I sang it first about 25 years ago in Jackson, Miss., in my church's choir at our Lessons and Carols service at Christmas. Such a lilting, happy melody, and lovely harmonies. Glad you've found it!