I posted a review of the movie the first time I watched it; here's the link:
I started my viewing of Christmas films last night with The Bishop's Wife, the 1947 movie starring Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young. I watched this film for the first time a couple of years ago, and quite enjoyed it- enough that I bought a copy of it for one of my sisters last Christmas. I liked it just as much rewatching it, and I have to say, it hit a little bit differently this time around due to the fact that I read David Niven's autobiography The Moon's A Balloon a short time ago. In it, I learned that Niven was filming The Bishop's Wife while devastated and reeling from the recent death of his wife in a tragic accident. I had assumed when I first watched the film that Niven had had to work at restraining his usual debonaire presence to play the weary, rather bitter Henry Brougham. Learning that he was grief stricken and struggling to get his life back together at the time gives a new perspective on his performance. I posted a review of the movie the first time I watched it; here's the link:
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I made the shepherd costume on Tuesday night- a tunic out of a piece of wool fabric I had in my stash and a sleeveless coat over it using a meter of yarn dye flannel I bought the other day. It didn't take too long despite not having a pattern or anything; I just kind of figured it out in my head and then started cutting and sewing. I also made a belt for the tunic and a headscarf as well. On the topic of shepherds, they figure prominently in the Christmas hymn Angels From The Realms Of Glory which is, of course, about the angels proclaiming the birth of Christ, specifically to the shepherds: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. - Luke 2:8-18 - Angels From The Realms Of Glory was written by Scottish poet and hymnist, James Montgomery in 1816. Montgomery's parents were Moravians, a Protestant denomination which places a very strong emphasis on evangelism. James' father John, the only Moravian minister in Scotland, felt called to be a missionary in the West Indies. Consequently, when James was six years old, his parents sent him to a Moravian community in Ireland to live while they sailed off to the mission field. He never saw them again; both died in Barbados. James was sent to a Moravian school in Yorkshire to train for the ministry, but it didn't take and so he was eventually apprenticed to a baker instead. He didn't like this either and ran away, spending his teen years drifting around Britain in and out of a variety of jobs; he even tried his hand at writing poetry. In his early twenties James settled in Sheffield, England and found employment with the local newspaper, The Sheffield Register. As it turned out, Montgomery had a real talent for writing and immensely enjoyed working for the Register which was a very political paper... so political in fact that its owner had to eventually flee the country to avoid imprisonment. James seized the opportunity and bought the paper, renaming it the Sheffield Iris. His fiery editorials also scandalized and angered the local authorities and James was, on two separate occasions, thrown into jail. James was undaunted by this and, in fact, became something of a celebrity in Sheffield for his willingness to go to prison for his principles. When he was released from jail, he used his newfound popularity to promote causes dear to his heart, which included the abolition of the slave trade and the plight of young boys forced to work as chimney sweeps. James was also a vocal proponent of foreign missions and the British Bible Society, despite his parents' unfortunate demise. He might not have been cut out for the ministry, but Montgomery was a staunch Christian, and gradually became one of the most respected men in Sheffield, his writings on all topics widely read. In addition to his political editorials, James kept up his poetry writing (he produced a booklet of poems while in jail called Prison Amusements) and also wrote a large number of hymns. Early on the morning of Christmas Eve in 1816, Montgomery was reading Luke 2 and felt moved to compose a poem inspired by the passage, writing it so quickly that he had it printed in that days edition of the Iris. The poem was set to music a few years later and Angels From The Realms Of Glory was sung for the first time on Christmas Day, 1821, in a Moravian church in England. The hymn has been set to a number of tunes over the years; the best known one is the tune used in the video below, entitled Regent Square. But it is also frequently sung to the tune Iris, which is the same tune which Angels We Have Heard On High is sung to.
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