Chanticleer - "In the Bleak Mid-Winter"

As every Holiday Season, this month I’ll be choosing only Holiday Songs from as many holidays as I can.

This song speaks so simply of belief. Belief that tomorrow, or next week, or next year, will be brighter. Belief that something divine is watching over us and will see us through the dark passage and back into the light.

2020 has been an absolute shit storm, and with the current covid cases on the rise, family gatherings being canceled, and hardship all around, this song seems to be the perfect candle in the darkness. Hope is the beginnings of belief, and belief makes things real.

This is one of my favorite versions of this song, right up there with the wonderful Sarah McLachlan version.

Chanticleer is a full-time male classical vocal ensemble based in San Francisco, California, founded in 1978. It is known for its interpretations of Renaissance music, for which they were founded, but also a wide repertoire of jazz, gospel and contemporary classical music. Its name is derived from the "clear singing rooster" in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The ensemble has made award-winning recordings.

So today, sparks at my fingertips, I choose Chanticleer’s version of “In the Bleak Mid-Winter” as my, look to the light, hope for the hopeless, give yourself some grace, song for a, keep believing, sacrifice now to celebrate later, we’re all in this together, Monday.