When local musician and recording artist Luke Spehar considered which song he might record for “his first Christmas song,” his wife had about 50 suggestions. Among “so many gems,” he chose “O Holy Night.”
One reason he loves the song and the Advent season in general is how it centers people precisely on the mystery of the Incarnation, he said, “just the wonder of it.” The lyrics were its main selling point for him, he said. “It really captures just so much of the Christian mystery and faith.”
Luke Spehar
Spehar described his song choice during a recent interview with “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley for an upcoming episode. He also played his arrangement of the song for the listening audience.
Conley said one thing that grabbed him when listening to the performance is how well the lyrics communicate the hope contained in the tiny body of the infant Jesus and what that means. And that the “thump thump” in the song from percussion instruments signified for him that “God has a heartbeat.”
Spehar said Conley put his finger on “that kind of heartbeat, kind of percussion piece in the bottom of that piece.”
“It was a wonderful project to put together,” he said, “and just kind of let the Lord lead it.”
In some ways, the lyrics “Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘til he appeared and the soul felt its worth” eloquently summarizes the human condition and the need for our Lord on Christmas morning, Spehar said. Other lyrics caught his attention in such a unique way, he said, making it feel right that this song was his first attempt at Christmas recording.
Sperhar’s music is available from most music platforms including Apple Music, Pandora and Spotify. Updates on performances are posted on his website, LukeSpehar.com.
To hear the full interview, including Spehar’s recording of “O Holy Night,” listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which airs at 9 p.m. Dec. 24, 1 p.m. Dec. 25 and 2 p.m. Dec. 26 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who describes Pope Francis’ choice of Bishop-elect Joseph Williams as the new auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and memories of family Christmas traditions from his childhood; and Nick Chalmers, director of choirs at Chesterton Academy in Hopkins and director of music at Annunciation in Minneapolis, who describes favorite Christmas songs and plays a recording of “Away in a Manger” performed by the Mirandola Ensemble, where he serves as artistic director.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at
Recent Comments