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December 17

Liddy's father, Mark Gerchman, took up the mandolin so he could join in Hark! 2009. His version of "What Child Is This?" was featured on December 3. Just four months later, Mark died of a heart attack, unexpectedly and far too soon. We found the sheet music for "In the Bleak Midwinter" on his piano, and imagined that he might already have been preparing for this year's Hark. (This carol always inspired giggles in the Gerchman and Grevstad families, particularly the lines about "snow on snow on snow.") In this track, Liddy plays flute and Greg plays banjo and Mark's mandolin, as we celebrate his memory on his 55th birthday.

Downloads: mp3

In the Bleak Midwinter

In memory of Mark Craig Gerchman (December 17, 1955 - April 6, 2010)

Performed by Greg Barlow on mandolin and banjo and Liddy Barlow on flute

Words: Christina Rossetti, circa 1872.
Music: CRANHAM, Gustav Theodore Holst, 1906.

In the bleak mid-winter
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 mid-winter,
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God incarnate,
Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But His mother only,
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man,
I would do my part;
Yet what can I give Him:
Give my heart.

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