Today’s post was written by Paul.
During our Christmas live stream, quite a few Acorns requested the beautiful Christmas song “Oh Holy Night,” but I knew I couldn’t do it justice. Luckily, I knew someone who could do much more than that!
My cousin Maria and I did the song together in the Martins Creek School gym back in December of 2023, just weeks before my retirement. That performance, which was part of the school-wide Christmas program, was in front of the entire school, and my nerves made me get the song too fast and also made me insert far too many guitar runs!
In a previous post, I shared the background info on this timeless song. Here it is again for anyone who missed it:
The song is based on the poem Minuit, Chrétiens written by Placide Cappeau in 1843. Cappeau was a wine merchant and part-time poet from Roquemaure, France. He wrote the poem to celebrate the renovation of the stained glass in his local church.
The music was composed by Adolphe Adam, a French composer. John Sullivan Dwight, an American writer, created the standard English translation of the song in 1855. Dwight made slight changes to the third verse, inspired by the lyrics about Christ’s victory over sin. The song was first performed at a midnight mass on Christmas Eve in 1847.
Cool fact: In 1906, Reginald Fessenden, a university professor and former chief chemist for Thomas Edison, broadcast “O Holy Night” over the radio, becoming the first song to be sent through the airwaves! The song was also used in the anti-slavery movement in America.
Many artists have covered the song, including Doyle Dykes, Mariah Carey, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, and Andrea Bocelli.
When I was a kid, a sweet lady named Sandra Chastain used to sing this song around Christmas time. It always made me frozen with attention. She’s now older and doesn’t sing anymore, at least not solos. I have no video or recording of her singing it, only a memory.
As far as I know, I place Maria’s singing of this song right up there with anyone who ever sang it! Charlotte Church also had a beautiful performance of it. It’s not an easy song to sing, or play for that matter (since the timing is unusual).
There’s no doubt who has the best instrumental version/performance, and that’s Doyle Dykes. You can hear him playing it last year at this link.
Doyle says he has played the song much better on other occasions, and I’m sure he’s correct, but I absolutely love this performance because of the stage presence, the background, the light glinting off his guitar in alignment with his core/heart.
I hope you enjoyed this Christmas song with Maria. Thanks for watching!
Paul
Original singles released on Spotify.
Shepherd of My Soul (Album released in 2016).
The Wilson Brothers Words of Life Album released in the 70s.
Thank you Paul and Maria! That was beautiful. My Dad died 7 years ago on Dec 29. If he were alive Dec 21st he would have been 100! I miss him everyday , but especially this December.
Prayers for Granny and your family.
Beautiful Maria,Paul….
I agree that it is a hard song to sing, but our special needs daughter Sayward Brooke can sing this song and never strain to hit the high notes. She sang it at the agency’s Christmas party. We were so proud of her. She doesn’t know to be imitated or scared to sing in front of one or hundreds. She is just free to be herself. Merry Christmas and God bless.
♥️
Oh my goodness! That was so beautiful! And the reading about the origins/history was also so enjoyable! Thank you so much for sharing it with us all ! That was a gift ! Merry Christmas!
Beautifully played and sung!
Such a lovely rendition. Thank you both so much Paul and Maria. Merry Christmas and here’s hoping y’all, everyone, has a wonderful holiday season. Prayers for all who have needs. Illness, hunger, homelessness, loneliness and everything God can help with. Please trust and obey. He is our Lord and Savior. Amen
That was just perfect. Listening to Maria and Paul is like having Jesus Himself tickle out ears and warm our hearts. Thank you
Paul on guitar and Maria on vocals this was absolutely beautiful! Wow!!❤️
Beautiful Song! Beautifully Done! It’s one of my favorite songs. Thanks for sharing. Wishing a Merry Christmas to the Pressley & Wilson families & all the Acorns & praying for a better New Year. Special prayers always for Granny.
Simply beautiful! What a clear and strong voice. The guitar is just right. I so enjoyed. Thank you for sharing. I think this is my favorite every year at our midnight Christmas Eve church service.
Absolutely beautiful!! Maria has a beautiful voice and just sings like there is no effort to hit the notes. Paul you did a great job and I want to say something. I noticed in this song more than I have ever noticed it. Your body movements, the way you looked down and the way you strummed the guitar looked just like you daddy , Pap. I meant that as a compliment. Maybe I just noticed it more? Don’t know. Thanks for a great rendition of one of my favorites.
Just beautiful! Thank you, Maria and Paul.
I have no words, just chills. Thank you and Merry Christmas to you all. An extra hug for Granny♡
Oh my goodness…Maria’s voice can compete with the best of them! I agree, Paul, she is right up there with the singers who gained recognition and earned big money for their performance of the song. Thank you for sharing.
This was absolutely beautiful! Thank you, Paul and Maria. It’s one of my favorite songs and I’ve never heard it performed better.
My very favorite Christmas song! Thank you for sharing. Paul and Maria did an awesome job!
As always praying for Granny.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
One of my favorites. When I was young, in grade school, one of the boys in the grade above me, had a beautiful voice and he always sang that on Midnight mass in our Catholic church. So beautiful. Thank you Paul and Maria.
Thanks Paul and Maria for the beautiful Christmas carol. It has always been my favorite.
Thank you Paul and Maria for playing and singing this song, it was absolutely beautiful! You are all so blessed to have so much musical talent in the family. Also, so wonderful that you share it with us.
Today at 10:03 AM EST is the winter solstice. At that time the daylight hours will cease to shrink and the nights will begin to get increase in length. I am looking forward to the day when no longer will the sun set behind the neighbor’s trees at 3:30 Post Meridiem.
That Maria can shore sing, cain’t she?
I enjoyed the honesty of this performance. It was not pretentious, it was pure. I also enjoyed the guitar arrangement. Paul, I would love to hear how you might arrange something like “In the Bleak Mid Winter” (hint, hint) Merry Christmas!
Simply Awesome! Thank you!
Paul I truly love your posts. I have a BA in Liberal Arts with a major in history so your posts are wonderful to read. I wish you and yours, especially Granny, A very blessed Merry Christmas!! Diane and I.
Wow. Now that’s a voice. Beautiful.
What a great rendition of this beautiful song! Thank you for blessing us with it.
What an outstanding way to begin this Christmas week! You & Maria gave us the best presentation of O Holy Night that I have ever heard. Doyle Dykes rendition of the song was phenomenal. He is such a gifted guitar player & I thank you for introducing us to him through the Blind Pig & the Acorn. Merry Christmas to the entire Wilson Family & the branches off from it. God bless Granny & give her comfort during this season.
O Holy Night would be a Christmas standard equal to, or greater, than Silent Night if it were not rather difficult. There is just something about it that reaches deep beyond the words into another place, beyond hearing. Somehow it is an object lesson that we are more than physical. And isn’t that exactly why there was a Christmas night? Thank you Marie and Paul. There are some songs we believers think would be good to sing in heaven itself and this is one. Yet somehow I think that there we might be able to sing the feeling itself. Whether that would require words or not, I don’t know. But if it did we would each and all know them along with knowing our particular part. I am not a singer here but I’ve got a longing to be part of that great anthem.
Well, I’d say you and Miss Maria did an outstanding job with this song! Absolutely beautiful! Heartfelt and touching! Thanks for sharing it and the history.
Just beautiful. Thank you!
Beautiful !!! A good reminder of what this season is all about.
Great job! Played twice. I hope you all have a great Christmas.
Great job. Played twice. Hope you all have a great Christmas!
Beautiful. Paul and Maria did a great job with this song. Merry Christmas everyone!
Beautiful! Thank you!
That was just beautiful. Maria’s voice sounded angelic. And your playing was wonderful too. It was so sweet to listen to as I have my coffee and prepare to go to church this morning. Thank you for the uplifting song. Merry Christmas everyone.
So beautiful, Maria and Paul❣️
Beautiful!
Thanks for sharing your talents doing this special song!
Thank you, Paul and Maria, for sharing that beautiful carol.
I enjoyed the song very much Paul and Maria, God bless you very much and have a very blessed Christmas in the name of Jesus my Lord and Savior, God bless Granny
Too early to listen to you and Maria sing this song without waking my son up. I remember her singing another song awhile back with you and know it will be good. I think Oh Holy Night and Silent Night are my favorite Christmas songs.
I have laid awake for about 3 hours during the night thinking about a lot of things. Just before going to bed I got word that a church member friend was being told they were only giving his wife 1-3 more days to live. She has been fighting the big C. John would write his own songs and sing them at church along with his wife. I am afraid he will be a lot like me when his wife, Bonnie, passes away. I had the thought during the night that it would seem to be a blessing for many of us to pass away along our wife/husband at the same time. Nowadays at our age, bad news-deaths, just keep coming.
I have now listen to Paul and Maria sing this song, in my humble opinion it don’t get any better than that! I am putting in a request to do more songs with her, particularly the good oldtime hymns.