About halfway through the concert, I noticed that my son - who turned eight just last week - had tears in his eyes. At first I thought something was wrong, but I quickly realized he had simply been moved by the music.
After the concert, we went out to the small square beside the church where the village was having an outdoor Advent celebration. My wife and I sipped mulled wine and spoke to neighbors and friends. I bought my little guy some kürtőskalacs and asked him what had brought the tears to his eyes during the choir's performance. His response - "It was all just too beautiful."
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of the specific hymns the choir sang at the church this evening, but there is one Hungarian Christmas song that moved me to tears the first time I heard it as a child. The song is called "Mennyből az angyal" (Angel from Heaven), and it still tugs at my soul every time I hear it, especially when it is sung in unison within a church as it is in the clip below.