Sunday, April 12, 2009

For Easter Sunday

Here's another egg in your basket (I hope). I also hope you have a subwoofer attached to your sound system, as I do. Let's raise a glass together, in the hope, sent with a prayer, that some of the suffering in the world - of the kinds we inflict on each other, especially the innocent - will diminish somewhat in the coming year, by virtue of this most incomprehensible act of Divine condescension.

Here's the original version at Youtube.

The newer version is here.

11 comments:

Lydia McGrew said...

Okay, Bill, now how am I going to get the tears out of the keyboard, huh?

That was beautiful. Thank you. I'm sending the link to my priest and to a parishioner who has said before that he especially likes this song. I wouldn't have even known that you knew it.

I don't know where you find all those great pictures. I was looking all over last night for one of Jesus and Mary Magdalene that I would really like to post. Your last one of that is especially good. The way you worked in Amy Welborn's husband and Fr. Neuhaus, not to mention Terri, is especially moving.

Lydia McGrew said...

Bethel wants to know who the group is. She thought she knew all the groups that have recorded "You Raise Me Up," but she doesn't recognize this one. And I want to know: Is the first nativity picture, the one that comes up with the video, a painting (or detail of a painting) by Frank Ordaz? It sure looks like it. If so, I looked around at Christmas for that one in a downloadable image but couldn't find it. I think I have it in a Christmas book around here, though. I love the way the baby looks like a real baby.

wl said...

The group is Secret Garden, a Norwegian outfit. The song's history is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Raise_Me_Up

Bethel can watch the first public performance of it on youtube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcjvYX-jho8
The tenor is Brian Kennedy, but they don't give the name of the black gal who helps him out.

If you want to download the song, go to this link. Any problems, let me know.

I haven't been able to find out the artist for the nativity scene. But Frank Ordaz's art work can be found here: http://www.frankordaz.com/index.php


I'm in the process of revising the video. I found out my camera software will let me put text on some of the pictures, like Fr. Neuhaus', and I need to batch resize the pics so that they play smoothly in WMP, which can't seem to deal with its own media files.

If you want to see larger renditions of the pictures, you can watch the youtube version, although the transitions are a little rocky. I'll be replacing it once I get the new version done.

I wouldn't have even known that you knew it.

You must think I live in a cave. I know a lot of...stuff.

Thomas D said...

Bill,

Here's hoping that you and yours had a splendid Easter!

Lydia McGrew said...

I'll have to tell Bethel about the group.

I'm going to be asking you for the links to a couple of those images--that first Nativity one and the last one at the end of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. I want them for my Christmas and Easter posts next year!

Frank Ordaz doesn't have that particular nativity picture on his site, because most of his paintings for books are owned by the publishers, etc., and he can put up very few on-line that have already been put into books. Or so I gathered when I asked him about it on his blog at Christmas time.

Lydia McGrew said...

I was _wrong_. Found the book. The picture in the book is quite different. I really like this nativity picture, though. The baby has that newborn-ish look.

Lydia McGrew said...

And it turns out _I_ am the one living in a cave, Bill, not you. I had thought of it as a semi-Christian contemporary song (or a song that can be thought of as Christian depending on how many verses they sing and on how one interprets it), and I know you're not into that "scene." Both the wiki article and Bethel have now set me straight on how "huge" it is in the world generally.

wl said...

You too, Dylan.

Lydia, if you do a google image search on Jesus, Mary and Joseph, or Holy Family, you'll see that nativity scene come up more than once.
The Jesus-Mary Magdalene painting is by Greg Olson (or Olsen), a well-known illustrator of children's books. Here's the link.

Lydia McGrew said...

Ha! Great. Thanks. I'll use the link and search.

Beth Impson said...

I have only just now had both the time and the right computer connection to watch this. Wow. I got to Terri's pictures before I lost it. If it were not for the Cross, how could we endure the evil of this world? Yet it is shot through with hope . . .

Thanks for such a stunning reminder.

wl said...

I only do it because I know you women folk are out there.