Mario Lanza - O Little Town of Bethlehem

Mario Lanza's beautiful voice is paired with paintings by master artists.

"'O Little Town of Bethlehem' is a popular Christmas carol. The text was written by Phillips Brooks (1835--1893), an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. He was inspired by visiting the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his church and his organist, Lewis Redner, added the music. Redner's tune, simply titled 'St. Louis', is the tune used most often for this carol in the United States." (The above quote is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Little_Town_of_Bethlehem)

Since seven paintings are shown in this video that were painted by Lorenzo Lotto, I am including some background information about this artist.
"Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480--1556) was a Northern Italian painter, draughtsman and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school. He painted mainly altarpieces, religious subjects and portraits. While he was active during the High Renaissance, he already constitutes, through his nervous and eccentric posings and distortions, a transitional stage to the first Florentine and Roman Mannerists of the 16th century.
Born in Venice, he worked in Treviso (1503--1506), in the Marche (1506--1508), in Rome (1508--1510), Bergamo (1513--1525), in Venice (1525--1549), Ancona (1549) and finally as a Franciscan lay brother in Loreto (1549--1556).
There is almost no information about his training. As a Venetian he was influenced by Giovanni Bellini as he had a good knowledge of contemporary Venetian painting. Though Bellini was doubtless not his teacher,the influence is clear in his early painting Virgin and Child with St. Jerome (1506) (National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh). However, in his portraits and in his early painting Allegory of Virtue and Vice (1505) (National Gallery of Art, Washington) he shows the influence of Giorgione's Naturalism. As he grew older his style changed, perhaps evolving, from a detached Giorgionesque classicism, to a more vibrant dramatic setpiece, more reminiscent of his contemporary from Parma, Correggio." (The above quote is from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Lotto).

The photos of Mario Lanza are from his film The Great Caruso. It is a wonderful film, I highly recommend it. This and his other films are available for purchase from Turner Classic Movies.

The paintings by master artists are listed below in order of their appearance in the video:
1) Artist unknown -- Journey to Bethlehem
2) artist unknown - Miriam and Yosef at Bethlehem
3) William Brassey Hole (1846-1917) -- Joseph and Mary Travel to the Census
4) artist unknown - No Room at the Inn
5) Vladimir Borovikovsky (1757 -- 1825) - Nativity of Christ (19th Century)
6) Artist unknown -- title unknown
7) Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (1714 -- 1789) -- Nativity
8) Domenico Fetti (1589-1623) - Sleeping Girl, c. 1615
9) Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556) - Holy Family with Angels
10) Artist unknown -- title unknown
11) Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556) - Santo Spirito Altarpiece
12) Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556) - San Bartolomeo Altarpiece
13) Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556) Virgin and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Catherine
14) Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556) The Holy Family with St Catherine of Alexandria
15) Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556) - Madonna and Child with Saints and an Angel
16) Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556) - Madonna and Child with Saints

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