Holy City (David Hobson) – Christmas Countdown No. 4

Hello all! I hope you are having a merry festive season. Yesterday I was unable to post due to a electricity cut in my sector, so today I will release two Christmas songs from my Christmas Countdown in quick succession. The Christmas Countdown of 10 of my favourite Christmas songs and hymns (shared in no particular order) will carry us right up to Christmas Eve. So let’s get moving…

As I mentioned in a recent post, the Australian tenor David Hobson (pictured above) is hands down my favourite Christmas Carols singer. He recently appeared here at No.8 with the Australian Soprano and Marina Prior in their superb rendition of Oh Come, All Ye Faithful. David now takes on the classic religious Victorian ballad, The Holy City (Jerusalem). I’ve always found this piece resolute and uplifting. Few Christmas songs appear as demanding to perform, yet Hobson delivers it masterfully. It’s remarkable how he sustains such vocal strength and clarity throughout the performance.

There are several recordings of Hobson performing this song at Melbourne’s Carols by Candlelight, but I’ve chosen the 2014 rendition. Imagining the atmosphere of that live event is almost overwhelming – it must have been magical to witness in person. For me, this ranks as one of the greatest live performances I’ve ever encountered. I hope you find it as inspiring as I do.

Last night I lay a-sleeping
There came a dream so fair,
I stood in old Jerusalem
Beside the temple there.
I heard the children singing,
And ever as they sang,
Me thought the voice of angels
From heaven in answer rang.

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
Lift up your gates and sing,
Hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna to your King!

And then me thought my dream was changed,
The streets no longer rang,
Hushed were the glad Hosannas
The little children sang.
The sun grew dark with mystery,
The morn was cold and chill,
As the shadow of a cross arose
Upon a lonely hill.

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
Hark! How the angels sing,
Hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna to your King!

And once again the scene was changed;
New earth there seemed to be;
I saw the Holy City
Beside the tideless sea;
The light of God was on its streets,
The gates were open wide,
And all who would might enter,
And no one was denied.
No need of moon or stars by night,
Or sun to shine by day;
It was the new Jerusalem
That would not pass away.

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
Sing for the night is o’er!
Hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna for evermore!

The following was extracted from the Wikipedia reference below:

The Holy City dates from 1892, with music by Michael Maybrick writing under the alias Stephen Adams, with lyrics by Frederic Weatherly. Its sheet music sales made it one of the most commercially successful songs in the UK and United States around the beginning of the 20th century, and also “perhaps the most pirated musical piece prior to the Internet“, according to copyright scholar Adrian Johns.

The three verses of the song describe in turn, a crowd cheering Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus’s crucifixion on Good Friday, and the eventual “New Jerusalem” (Zion) of universal peace and brotherhood, which is foretold in Isaiah 2:4 and Isaiah 11:6-9.

References:
1. The Holy City (song) – Wikipedia