'A Child Is Born'

Sparta pastor raises spirits, money for charity with his Christmas CD, ‘A Child Is Born’

SPARTA  A lone melodious voice emerges from the stereo speakers — seemingly from out of nowhere — as the fifth track of new compact disc, “A Child Is Born,” starts to play. Alone, Father David McDonnell, pastor of Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) Parish here, sings clear as a starry night “Wexford Carol,” a traditional Christmas song that fits perfectly with the concept of his holiday collection: retelling the narrative of Jesus’ birth through the music of the season.

“In sending his beloved son/With Mary holy we should pray/To God with love this Christmas Day/In Bethlehem upon that morn/There was a blessed Messiah born,” Father McDonnell sings without musical accompaniment on the haunting “Wexford Carol,” as the lead vocalist.

Father McDonnell lends his considerable vocal talents to the eight-song, almost 30-minute CD, which he described as a “collection of traditional, contemporary and original music that reflects that true spirit of Christmas.” Almost like a “concept album,” this release presents songs in a broad array of styles that focus specifically on various aspects of the Nativity narrative, bringing listeners right into the manger with Baby Jesus.

“A Child Is Born” also encourages another critical part of the Christmas season: the spirit of giving. Proceeds from the sale of the $15 CD will benefit a variety of charities. They include a food bank in Sparta; OLL’s mission to Haiti; another mission to Haiti organized by Steve Gebhardt of St. Matthew the Apostle, Randolph [see story on page 1]; and ministries at St. Mary Parish, Denville, where Father McDonnell served as parochial vicar from 1972 to 1980. So far, OLL has sold about 400 copies, netting about $5,000, the priest said.

“It was fun making the CD. Parishioners have been asking me to make a CD for Christmas,” said Father McDonnell, who noted that parishioners hear him sing hymns at Mass and a few traditional tunes from his native Ireland, while some of them have heard the two Christmas CDs that feature some of his performances with the St. Matthew’s choir, when he served as pastor there from 1988 to 2009.

The new CD opens with celestial-sounding keyboards that warmly welcome Father McDonnell’s gentle vocal phrasing on “O Come All Ye Faithful.” He continues with “When a Child Is Born,” a contemporary Christmas tune, popularized by Johnny Mathis. The song’s spoken-word section speaks about a world waiting for a child —Baby Jesus — “who will grow up and turn…hate to love, war to peace and everyone to everyone’s neighbor and misery and suffering will be words to be forgotten forever.”

Delicate acoustic guitar and string arraignments grace Father McDonnell’s rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” The CD also includes the Irish song “Wind in the Willows” as well as a contemporary Christmas tune that he wrote, “O What a Night,” which he sings with great reverence, backed by keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. The priest opens the song, describing the scene with poetic lyrics: “All the stars are shining so brightly. Valleys and hills are bathing in their light. Shepherds hear music above and listen so quietly.”

“Who is this God, who sends a child to sleep in a manger? What is the meaning of his holy birth? Welcoming everyone to his side — the friend and the stranger — filling this night will joy,” Father McDonnell sings in “O What a Night,” not to be confused with a similarly titled hit for the Four Seasons. “O what a night this is, casting light on all our tomorrows. Nothing can ever be the same again. Someone who walks beside us in all our joys and our sorrows: Jesus Emmanuel,” he sings.

Work on the “A Child Is Born” — which ends with the gentle “What Child Is This” and “Silent Night” — started this past summer. Originally, Linda O’Connell, an OLL parishioner, who sang in the choir at St. Matthew’s, when Father McDonnell served there, pitched him the idea. He prayed on it, agreed to take on the project and soon assembled a list of possible songs to record, she said.

“The first time I heard Father David sing at St. Matthew’s, it was a most moving experience of music enhancing liturgy,” O’Connell said. “Father tells us to share our gifts. I urged him to share his beautiful voice,” she said.

In September, Father McDonnell finished recording the songs for “A Child Is Born” in the home studio of Art Suriano, who leads a music ministry for young people at his St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, also in Sparta. The CD features Celtic harp, acoustic guitar and piano by O’Connell, as well as guitar, keyboards, bass and sound effects by Suriano. O’Connell produced the disc and wrote arraignments, while Suriano wrote orchestrations and oversaw the sound engineering.

“Father David sings not only with his voice, but also with his heart,” O’Connell said. “This CD will be a success because it will bring people joy. Music is a beautiful way to evangelize to people of all ages,” she said.

Already, rave reviews are in. His former parish, St. Mary’s, purchased a few CDs for sale and exclaimed in a post on the social media site FaceBook, “For those of you who don’t remember, his [Father McDonnell’s] voice is amazing, and for those of you who do, the voice is still amazing.”

[Copies of “A Child Is Born” are still available. Call Our Lady of the Lake Parish at (973) 729-6107.]