‘Hope In Our Darkness’

SPARTA  Sparse, interlocking notes of an acoustic guitar and piano cushion the rich baritone of Father David McDonnell, pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Parish (OLL) here, as he softly sings the desperate yet hopeful “Night of Silence.” Written in 1981, the Christmas ballad sounds as if it could have been penned in response to these deadly and uncertain times of the global pandemic now in 2020.

“Cold are the people, winter of life. We tremble in shadows this cold endless night … Fire of hope is our only warmth, weary, its flame will be dying soon,” Father McDonnell sings with choir accompaniment on “Night of Silence” from his third — and latest — CD, aptly titled “Hope in Our Darkness,” a reference to the Christ Child. “Spirit among us, shine like the star — your light that guides shepherds and kings from afar … Spirit, we wait for your loving Son,” he sings.

The song, which ends up intertwining its original melody with that of “Silent Night,” landed on the 12-track CD, which debuts this month after Father McDonnell changed the title of the release in light of the COVID­­19 crisis that has altered life, as we know it. Originally, he planned to name it either “Joy to the World” or “Repeat the Sounding Joy” but instead chose “Hope in Our Darkness.” The 43-minute disc mixes Christmas classics, such as “Joy to the World,” with lesser-known gems, such as “Night of Silence,” and offers a greater variety of songs, instruments and singing voices. Pre-orders for the CD began on Sept. 8 [see details below].

“A pandemic can rob us of many things, but it can never take from us the hope that only the newborn Christ-Child can bring,” Father McDonnell, a native of Ireland, writes in the liner notes to the CD, the sale of which once again, will raise funds for charity.

Recording, mixing and playing guitar, bass and mandolin on several tracks is John Walsh, a noted Irish musician, who also made musical contributions to Father McDonnell’s second CD: “Memories Linger On,” a collection of secular tunes.

Linda O’Connell, a member of OLL’s choir and a cantor, plays piano, keyboards, synthesizers and harp and helped coordinate the appearance of the other musicians and singers on the CD, which she co-produced with the priest. They recorded most of the disc in the rectory of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Haskell, Wanaque, between August 2019 and February of this year with Walsh recording some parts during a visit to Ireland, O’Connell said.

Like with a few of the tunes on “Hope in Our Darkness,” Father McDonnell lends an Irish lilt to the classic “The First Noel,” accompanied by acoustic guitar, piano and flute. Another Christmas chestnut, “Joy to the World” opens the CD proclaiming the release’s message of hope in the Christ Child with the pastor’s strong voice and with a small choir, organ, trumpets and harp.

Adding variety to the collection, “The Cherry Tree Carol” presents a duet between Father McDonnell, in the role of Joseph, and Sarah McCabe, who served as interim pianist at OLL at Advent and Christmas 2019, in the role of the Blessed Mother. It tells the fictitious story of Jesus’ parents-to-be walking through a cherry orchard when Mary asks Joseph to father some cherries “for I am with child.” Joseph tells her, “Let the father of the baby gather cherries for thee!”

“Then up spoke baby Jesus, from in Mary's womb: bend down the tallest branches, that my mother might have some…And bend down the tallest branches, it touched Mary's hand,” Father McDonnell singings followed by McCabe’s sweet, gentle voice, “Cried she: Oh look thou Joseph, I have cherries by command.”

The CD features “Christmas in Killarney,” a fast, fun Irish jig filled with tongue-twisting lyrics and a colorful array of instruments including flute, guitar, violin and concertina. It intersperses a few bars from a reel, an Irish dance song, “Creel of Turf.” Other songs feature bass, tin whistle and even large sonorous hand bells from a Cistercian abbey in France, O’Connell said.

“Father David is such a fine singer; he has a unique way of expressing emotion through music. It was a creative process to make the CD. Everybody brought something to the production. I was thrilled to be part of it,” O’Connell said.

Most of the CD was recorded at St. Francis after Father Greg Golba, its pastor, offered the team his facilities in the common room of the rectory. The “Memories Linger On” CD was recorded at Walsh’s professional studio in Yonkers, N.Y., which he had to close because of prohibitive rent. Father Golba has maintained a warm friendship with Father McDonnell since he previously had served OLL as a parochial vicar and served as a “source of support and encouragement for the project,” O’Connell said.

Proceeds from the pastor’s first two CDs “A Child is Born,” a Christmas disc, and “Memories Linger On,” netted thousands of dollars for charity. Beneficiaries included the Knights of Columbus’ Adults with Disabilities Drive, the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, OLL’s twin parish in Haiti, a community that serves the sick and disabled in Haiti, Sparta Ecumenical Food Pantry, Birth Haven, a home for unwed mothers and OLL’s Needy Fund. Some of the funds from each CD were reserved for the recording of Father McDonnell’s next CD, the pastor said.

“COVID-19 has been a killer of lives, hope, souls and businesses. Through this CD, Father David and the rest of us are able to maintain the Catholic normal not a ‘new normal.’ We still rejoice in the birth of the Christ Child in song,” O’Connell said.

To order by check, make it payable to Our Lady of the Lake for $15 for each CD along with your name, address and contact information and send it to Hope In Our Dark­ness, 101 Cedar Falls Terrace, Sparta, N.J. 07871. To order by credit card, call Joanna at the parish office at (973) 729-6107. Customers will be sent an email confirmation when the CDs have arrived and are ready for pick up in early November.