In the Cathedral

The Choir of the Cathedral of the Madeleine put on an exceptional carol service Monday night. Every year my family tries to go up and hear at least one of the carol services. We've often tried to go to the Christmas Eve service, but this year it worked out better to go on Monday, which I have no problem with because it seems that the Madeleine Choir is incredible any time they perform.

The choir entered singing "O Come, O Come Emanuel", which the audience is invited to sing along with during the fourth, fifth, and seventh verses. A couple behind us failed to note this detail and began belting out the first verse at full volume. I felt momentarily annoyed because "O Come, O Come Emanuel" is one of my favorite carols and the choir's performance is always about the most overwhelmingly gorgeous thing in music. But I couldn't be annoyed with this couple, even if they weren't the best singers and certainly couldn't harmonize with each other, because they were so happy to be there and singing and you could tell they loved that song and the opportunity to sing it in the Cathedral of the Madeleine with the choir. So it was still a lovely experience.

This service included several songs I hadn't heard the choir perform before, like the "Coventry Carol", "Myn Lyking", and "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree". Beautiful, all of them. "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree" was particularly wonderful to me and I wanted to share the text with you here.

The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit and always green:
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excel:
By faith I know, but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought:
I missed of all: but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I'm weary with my former toil,
Here I will sit and rest awhile:
Under the shadow I will be,
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.

- poem set to music by Elizabeth Poston (1905-1987)

If you haven't yet been to the Cathedral of the Madeleine, I'd recommend visiting. It's a lovely place; one of my favorite in Salt Lake.