Nan Merriman sings "Bring Flowers of the Fairest"
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- čas přidán 9. 09. 2024
- Here is rare video footage of the late great American mezzo-soprano Nan Merriman (1920-2012) singing an old traditional Catholic hymn to the Blessed Virgin.
The tradition in the United States and many other countries has been for school children to have a "May Crowning" ceremony, with a procession, pretty dresses and a wreath of fresh flowers that one child gets to place on the statue of Mary. "Bring Flowers of the Rarest" appears to have been written by Mary E. Walsh and published in 1871.
"Bring flow'rs of the fairest,
Bring flow'rs of the rarest,
From garden and woodland
And hillside and vale;
Our full hearts are swelling,
Our Glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest
Rose of the vale.
O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May,
O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May.
Our voices ascending,
In harmony blending,
Oh! Thus may our hearts turn
Dear Mother, to thee;
Oh! Thus shall we prove thee
How truly we love thee,
How dark without Mary
Life's journey would be.
O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May,
O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May."
A link to my Nan Merriman playlist:
• Nan Merriman (1920-2012)
Nan Merriman was a favorite singer of Toscanini and conductors around the world. A devout Catholic, she appeared with many other celebrities in several radio and television religious dramas. Her singing of the traditional Christmas hymn "Adeste, Fideles" (Oh Come All Ye Faithful) appeared in a similar program on radio and may be found among the playlist linked above.
So beautifully sung, so very sweet. It reminds me of my youth, all the Roman Catholic girls school would walk around the convent garden, two by two, singing this hymn to Mary on the first of May, Mayday, admiring the big statue Our Blessed Lady in the middle of the lawn.
We did that here in Scotland too and the most recent First Communicants were given pride of place in the procession, wearing our white dresses etc and one of them would be chosen to place a floral crown on the big statue of Our Lady. What happy memories! 🙏🏻
Thank you Sr Mildred for teaching me this song in First Grade in 1975. Always remember Hyperdulia. I do. My thesis was on Mariology.
This I Rate as One( of the best) if not THE BEST Rendition of this Song by a Female soloist. Her voice has just the right amount of Sincerity! IMHO!!
The perfect video to celebrate her 92nd birthday, best wishes!
Nan Merriman(1920) was very popular worldwide,but particularly in the Netherlands,where she gave many recitals.I was too young unfortunately to see her on stage,but her name is far but forgotten in my country,although she retired at 45 years in 1965.The story is known,she married Dutch tenor Tom Brand(1917-1970)and after his early death she took care of (his) ten children and after they grew up,she left Holland in 1973 for Los Angelos and never returned.A great singer and admired by collegues
What a voice - strong and true and effortless. Thank you for posting this lovely hymn and introducing me to this exceptional singer.
Powerful Voice Full of Intense Feeling and Heavenly Vigour!
amazing performance nan. rip.n thank you
Wonderful to have this clip available to a wide public through CZcams. It is difficult to understand why Miss Merriman would not have been a regular on The Voice of Firestone and The Bell Telephone Hour. Her voice is so beautiful and expressively presented in all of her recordings, but it was even more remarkable in person. I feel fortunate to have experienced her in the theatre.
According to Wikipedia, Merriman is an ancient surname originating in parts of the British Isles. It is a derivative of the Old English pre 7th century personal name 'Myrige', meaning merry, which in the medieval period became a nickname surname given either to a person of 'honest' character, or a professional clown, one who took part in the theaters of the day. The suffix ending "man(n)" was in the context of a surname, a form of endearment meaning "friend of".
So beautifully and artistically sung!
Stunning voice. She was beautiful with beautiful technique. Thank you so much for posting this and that CZcams randomly sent it cuz I've never heard of her before. Rendition was very comforting❤
I see you got the extended version posted. Looking at this I can see why she was described as "radiant." What a face! Don't need a spotlight for her, she just glows in the dark! A little refined showing off at the end of 2nd stanza. Looks a lot better here that it did when I was auditioning it.. I have reviewed all Toscanini video I can find and have not been able to find any where she appears, so this may be all there is for video, since she retired in 1965. Thanks from Joe Z.
beautiful
Admired by colleagues indeed! Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Fiordiligi to her Dorabella (what a pair on stage!) in the fabled von Karajan recording and in the legendary Piccola Scala performances with Cantelli, had this to say: "Now that was a voice, a musician and a technician!"
One of the absolute greats of all time. NO ONE sang the alto songs in Mah'er's Das Lied. This performance is the best rendering of this classic old hymn...guaranteed to choke up any Catholic old timer. BTW it was written my Mary Walsh...best know for the Blackhawk Waltz.
Canon Sydney MacEwan would be proud of this wonderful rendering of Bring Flowers of The Rarest. Nan Merriman is a great artist with an excellent voice. Thanks.
The famous Norwegian conductor Øivin Fjeldstad used to say about Kathleen Ferrier: "she was beautiful when she did not sing and even more beautiful when she sang!" That certainly does not apply to all singers, but Nan Merriman is a case in point. I admire her decision to retire at an early age, but regret that it barred me from experiencing her art in person.
I have just discovered this glorious mezzo soprano and I think I have died and gone to heaven!!. Thank you for posting.
Kathleen ferrier was and is Queen.
Brava!
Sooo nice lol
The song she sings here is Irish? I heard this "bring flowers of the fairest" by an Irish singer long ago . Since so many Irish emigrated to the US, it could well be Irish.
Does anyone know if the name Merriman goes back to Ireland or Scotland?
My Mum who died at 96 on 8th December sang this beautiful hymn song for as long as I can remember
Yes, the song its Irish . Your name is Irish .
@@spmoran4703 it was written by an American named Mary E Walsh in the mid 1800s. It was often sung in the uk and Ireland though the words were a bit different in some of the verses. I learned it at school in the 1950s here in Scotland but today it is not heard quite so much or taught anymore. It is mainly the older generation who remember it. The name Merriman is said to be of Norman origin and used in Britain and Ireland after the Norman conquest.
She has really butchered that hymn
What a mean thing to say. God Bless you
Not at all!Our Blessed Mother is really pleased with this beautiful rendition of hymn dedicated to her.