DESCRIPTION:
"Let Heaven and Nature Sing" An Abendmusik Christmas, First Plymouth Church, Lincoln Nebraska, December, 2012.

In the Bleak Midwinte - Gustav Holst/ arr. Abbie Betinis
(Text: Christina Rossetti (v. 1); John Andrew Storey (v.2); Rossetti/Betinis (v. 3)
Kendall Reimer and Rebecca Shane, soloists; Jack Rinke, piano

In the bleak midwinter frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter long ago.
Christ a homeless stranger, so the gospels say,
cradled in a manger and a bed of hay;
in the bleak midwinter, a stable place sufficed,
Mary and her baby, Jesus Christ.
Angels and archangels may have thronged the air,
Shepherds, beasts and wisemen may have gathered there,
But only his mother in her tender bliss
Blessed this new redeemer with a kiss.
What can I give you, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wiseman, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give you: Give my heart. I give my heart.