Choral Resources for Christmas - Warren Anderson
More and more Christian publishers are creating exciting works for choirs and ensembles of all ages and sizes. Here are a few programming resources just in time for this holiday season and ones to come!
Greatest Generation
Light & Life
Lloyd Larson, LillenasVery little appeals to seniors more than the chance to sing marvelous melodies together. Indeed, the members of your senior choir will relish such classics as "Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne," "Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light," "He Is Born, the Divine Christ Child," and "Once in Royal David's City," all arranged in relatively easy SATB, with the sopranos and tenors rarely straying above a C. Other senior-friendly accoutrements include a score with large print (the book itself is 8.5 X 11 inches) and no repeats. Using John 1 as a focus, Larson weaves music and narration (also in a large font) together to illustrate that "Jesus is life, and that life is the light for all people.
www.lillenas.com Baby Boomers
A Christmas Prayer
J. Daniel Smith, Genevox
One of the hallmarks of boomer-led churches is excellent drama; witness the surge in the church-drama industry in the aftermath of Willow Creek's decision to pursue seeker-sensitive Sunday-morning programming 30 years ago. A Christmas Prayer features five sketches concerning the journeying home for the holidays of Phillip, estranged from his family and skeptical of his emotionally absent father's recent embrace of Christianity. Along the way, his "coincidental" encounters with a host of angelic Good Samaritans help point him toward the Christ child, thus answering the Christmas prayer of his family. Smith arranges traditional favorites (including a moving "O Holy Night") and original tunes from the likes of Greg Nelson and Shannon Wexelberg in an energetic yet accessible style that will appeal to all ages.
www.lifeway.com
Generation X
Jesus, No Other Name
Randy Vader and Jay Rouse, PraiseGathering
Vader and Rouse always craft musicals that appeal across the generations, but Gen Xers will particularly enjoy No Other Name, with its inclusion of such contemporary worship standards as "How Great Is Our God," "No Other Name," and "The Name of the Lord." Other musical highlights include the annual rendering of a Christmas classic with Vader verse (this year "Carol of the Bells" becomes "Carol of the Kings"), a lovely Mary-Joseph duet ("Who Would Imagine a King?"), and a soulful treatment of "What Did You Say Was the Baby's Name?" from the pen of that Gen X stalwart Bill Gaither. (Well, maybe not, but it's an awfully cool arrangement nevertheless.) Vader's narrations combine traditional Christmas Scripture texts (John 1, Isaiah 9), devotional thoughts, and prayers.
www.praisegathering.com
Generation i
Everything Glorious: A Praise and Worship Christmas
Travis Cottrell, Benson
Worship leader Cottrell has arranged yet another Praise and Worship Christmas musical, and the results are, indeed, glorious. From the opening strains of the salsa-influenced "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" to the final acoustic-driven sounds of Matt Redman and Martin Smith's "All Over the World," Cottrell combines energetic arrangements of current worship faves ("O Praise Him") and original tunes ("Sing Glory," sure to be a pull-out for next year's crop of octavos) with Christmas standards ("O Come, All Ye Faithful," "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing") for medleys that cover the ancient-future spectrum quite nicely. Back-to-back power ballads "This Is My Everything" and "Orphans of God" (not the Mark Heard tune, but near its equal) provide particularly poignant punctuation for the message of the season. Ancillaries include DVD accompaniment tracks, worship slides, and praise band charts.
www.brentwood-benson.com
Generation Z
Miracle on Main Street Celeste Clydesdale, Clydesdale & ClydesdaleOK, I don't know if we've classified the next generation yet, but if you're looking for a Christmas musical for kids, consider this Christmas treat.
Miracle features a
Holiday Inn-like pageant-within-a-pageant, as the neighborhood kids help show the parents how to keep Christ in Christmas. Clydesdale's musical arrangements are typically witty and fun to sing, and your kids will also enjoy the seven pages of activities found at the back of the songbook.
www.wordmusic.com
