A Merry Christmas with Engelbert Humperdinck Quiz

Answer: Latin

Like many other singers, Engelbert included both English and Latin in his recording of this Christmas hymn.

The original composition of "Adeste Fideles" is disputed, with credit most often being given to John Francis Wade, a Jacobite musician and hymnist, who spent much of his life as an exile in France. The English translation was written by Frederick Oakeley, an English Catholic priest, in 1841.

Answer: Yes

The arrangement is somewhat up-tempo and Rock influenced, But Engelbert sings Hugh Martin's original lyrics.

Answer: Russ Morgan and His Orchestra in 1949

Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson's "Blue Christmas" was published in 1948. The next year, both Russ Morgan and Hugo Winterhalter had commercially successful releases of the song. The Country & Western associations of "Blue Christmas" also started in 1949 with Ernest Tubb. Since then it has been recorded by many artists, including a romantic Pop version by the great Billy Eckstine in 1950. It has also been recorded by The Beach Boys and Glen Campbell as well as by Engelbert in 1980, for whom the song remains a holiday concert favorite.

Elvis laid down his iconic version in 1957, releasing it both on his "Elvis' Christmas Album" LP and on the extended play album "Elvis Sings Christmas Songs." Chet Atkins included "Blue Christmas" on his 1961 album "Christmas with Chet Atkins."

Answer: Crying

The entire lyric is as follows:

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my bedside till morning's nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And bring us to heaven, to live with Thee there.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

Away in a manger...

I learned it "stay by my cradle," but perhaps "bedside" is the British version? In any case, the meaning is clear.

This is often the first Christmas carol children are taught. It has two melodies that I know of, one used in Britain and the other in the U.S. Not surprisingly, Engelbert uses the British melody. According to Wikipedia, the carol has a complicated provenance; but on Engelbert's album it is attributed simply to Spilman.

Answer: Hosanna

The Latin exclamation Hosanna! Found in hymns and Christmas carols comes to us from Aramaic through Hebrew and Greek. Originally, it meant 'save" or 'rescue,' retaining this meaning in Jewish liturgy. How the term came to be used in the Christian tradition, as an exclamation of praise for the Savior is unclear.

Answer: Silent Night

Joseph Mohr wrote "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht" as a poem in 1816 with music added by Franz Xaver Gruber in 1818. The American Episcopal priest John F. Young published the English translation in 1859.

"The First Noel" is a traditional English carol, thought to be of Cornish origin., first published in the early Nineteenth Century. The American Episcopal rector John Henry Hopkins Jr. composed the words and music of "We Three Kings of Orient Are" in 1857.

Answer: Winter Wonderland

The beloved standard "Winter Wonderland" was written by lyricist Richard B. Smith and composer Felix Bernard. Engelbert had earlier included the song in the "Jingle Bell Tyme" medley on his 1977 "Christmas Tyme" album.

The Les Reed/Barry Mason song "Winter World of Love" is an early and enduring hit of Engelbert's, first recorded by him in 1969 and a staple of his repertoire ever since. He included "Wonderland by Night" by Lincoln Chase and Klaus-Günter Neumann on his 1968 album "A Man without Love." As of 2015 he has not recorded "A Marshmallow World," which was written by Carl Sigman and Peter DeRose.

Answer: Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte was born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. in 1927 in Harlem, New York in the United States. Singer-songwriter, actor, social activist, he is best known as the King of Calypso for popularizing that musical style. His 1956 album "Calypso" was the first million selling album by an individual artist, as opposed to an orchestra or group. He has received many awards and honors both in the Performing Arts and for his social and humanitarian work. Belafonte's 1957 recording of "Mary's Boy Child" by Jester Hairston remains one of the best selling versions of this oft-recorded carol.

The influential American Folk and Blues musician Huddie William Ledbetter, known as Lead Belly, lived from 1888 to 1949, when he died of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Motor neurone disease and Lou Gehrig's disease). His impact on American music as a vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter cannot be overestimated. Wikipedia's listing of artists who have covered his songs or have otherwise been influenced by him is impressive:

"Lead Belly's work has been widely covered by subsequent musical acts, including Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Delaney Davidson, Tom Russell, Lonnie Donegan, Bryan Ferry, The Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Elvis Presley, ABBA, Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, The Animals, Jay Farrar, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Dr. John, Ry Cooder, Davy Graham, Maria Muldaur, Rory Block, Grateful Dead, Gene Autry, Odetta, Billy Childish, Mungo Jerry, Paul King, Van Morrison, Michelle Shocked, Tom Waits, Scott H. Biram, Ron Sexsmith, British Sea Power, Rod Stewart, Ernest Tubb, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ram Jam, Blind Willies, The White Stripes, The Fall, Hole, Smog, Old Crow Medicine Show, Spiderbait, Meat Loaf, Ministry, Raffi, Rasputina, Rory Gallagher, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Deer Tick, Hugh Laurie, X, Bill Frisell, Koerner, Ray & Glover, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Meat Puppets, Mark Lanegan, WZRD, Keith Richards, and Phil Lee, among many others."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_Belly

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

Reggae and Jazz musician Bob Marley (Feb. 6, 1945 to May 11, 1981) was born Robert Nesta Marley in Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica. A pioneer of Reggae, he achieved popularity in the 1960s with his group The Wailers. After the group disbanded he pursued a successful solo career till his untimely death from cancer at the age of thirty-six.

Donovan Philips Leitch was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland in 1946. A phenomenon in the 1960s with his unique blend of Folk, Jazz, Pop, psychedelia and Calypso, he had instantly recognizable hits like "Mellow Yellow" and "Sunshine Superman." His fortunes waned with the turn against Hippie culture after the '70s, but he made a comeback in the '90s. Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.

Answer: Tidings of comfort and joy

"O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy"

"Gladsome tidings" -is from the second verse of "Angels We Have Heard on High:"

"Shepherds why this jubilee
Why your joyous strains prolong
What the gladsome tidings be,
Which inspire your heavenly song?"

"Good tidings of great joy" comes from the Gospel According to St. Luke Chapter 2: Verse 10 KJV

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."

"Glad tidings of good things" comes from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans Chapter 10: Verse 15 KJV

"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

Answer: And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors

As a child I was taught to say "And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." A bit of a mouthful, that. "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" is from the New American Standard Bible, while "Forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us" comes from The Living Bible."

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" is from the King James Version. Malotte used the more traditional, and shorter, form. Malotte wrote many years before the issuance of the New American Standard Bible and The Living Bible.