'Tis the season to be jolly (in July, as you plan music for Advent!)
Am I right?!
As a church musician, you know it's never too early to be thinking about Christmas, so today, I thought I'd share a few favorite choral anthems for the Advent season.
I've mentioned a few of these in previous posts (Favorite Anthems for the Small Church Choir and Fifty More Favorite Anthems for the Small Church Choir), but I thought it might be helpful to compile everything in one post for easy reference.
Fall is in the air (literally, here in Rochester). The nights are cool, the pumpkins and mums are out, and Fall cups are back at Starbucks.
This can mean only one thing: it’s time to start listening to Christmas music. Naturally.
Every year around this time, I spend some time browsing online music catalogs and listening to a variety of Advent and Christmas anthems: seeing what’s new, discovering old favorites, and looking for inspiration (you, too?). Not necessarily because I need to buy something; perhaps more out of curiosity.
In my recent perusing, I was struck by the number of traditional hymns and carols I found that have been reimagined and creatively set in fresh, modern ways. So, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites with you. I tried to include a variety of anthems in this list - most are SATB (some with divisi, others without), but there’s one SAB and one 2-part anthem in the mix, as well. Hope you find something you can use with your choir this year!
Whether you’re in the not-quite-done-with-my-Christmas-planning-yet camp or the I-could-use-a-little-seasonal-inspiration, I hope you enjoy listening to and browsing these modern hymn arrangements.
Every few years (six or seven, to be exact), Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. This is one of those years.
It makes for a long weekend for those of us involved in worship planning and leadership (especially if you have an 11 p.m. service on Christmas Eve!), but what a privilege to gather together as a church on one of the greatest holidays of the church year.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” - John 1:5 Have you ever noticed how much light comes from one tiny candle? No matter how dark the room may be, the soft glow of one small flame cannot be overcome.
It is radiant and bright and hopeful—a reminder of God’s promise to us and God’s presence with us. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8)
Advent is just a few short weeks away (it begins the Sunday after Thanksgiving this year). It's a season of hope, patience, expectation, waiting. The people were walking in darkness. They knew the Light would come one day, but they didn't know when. Instead, they walked in faith, believing that redemption was near.
Every year, we remember (in some small way) the waiting - the walking-by-faith part of the story. This is why I love Advent calendars - a tangible way to count the days, to journey through Advent with a spirit of hope and expectation.
When I was growing up, we had a large felt Advent calendar shaped like a tree with a small ornament for each day. We also had an array of paper calendars with doors to open and Scripture verses to read (some even had chocolate inside!). For the past few years, SD and I have displayed this lovely Scripture card Advent calendar by Oh My Deer (included in the list below).
Who doesn't love a Christmas party in September?! A Christmas choir party is a great way to kick off the new choir year, welcome new members, and build community, and a fun way to create some hype around whatever you have planned for Christmas.
My first year as Director of Music at the First Congregational Church in Westminster, MA, I surprised my choir one Wednesday night in September with a Christmas party. I hung up twinkle lights and pulled out a box of Christmas decorations for the tables. We drank hot chocolate, ate Christmas cookies, and played a few hilarious games (see below).
As an aside, for a group that didn't really enjoy spending time together in social settings, this was the start of building community. Within two years, this group of singers became a group of friends who truly enjoyed spending time together.
The next year, I planned a Saturday workshop. I brought in a friend (a professional conductor) to rehearse the group (a great learning experience for all of us), we read through our Christmas cantata, played a few Christmas games, and had a potluck lunch.
A few weeks ago, I received an email from a music director asking for ideas and suggestions for a Christmas program for her small adult church choir.
I had already planned to write this post sometime later this month, so I thought I'd share my thoughts and ideas now, in case some of you have the same questions.
Also, I'm using this post to kick-off a mini "Christmas in August" series, so grab a cup of hot chocolate (or iced mocha) and enjoy!
The first step in planning a Christmas program, I think, is choosing a format. What kind of Christmas program will this be? What resources are available to you? Who will participate?
Here are three formats you might consider:
It's always a joy to return to the beautiful Lake Junaluska, nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western NC.
I've been attending Music and Worship Arts Week off and on since high school and I have so many memories of chilly morning walks to worship in Stuart Auditorium, evening concerts by the Junaluska Singers, simply suppers at the Allgood House, and stopping to admire the roses along the Rose Walk.
In case you haven't been, the week-long conference includes daily morning worship, several performance tracks for people of all ages and abilities (choir, handbells, dance, instrumental ensembles, and drama), a variety of helpful seminars and reading sessions, and evening concerts.
Like last year, I thought I'd share my reading session picks. Here are my favorite new adult choir anthems - hot off the press!
Newspaper for gift-wrapping.
Charlie Brown stamps.
Extra rehearsals.
(Endless) to-do lists.
Christmas concerts.
Amazon packages.
Bulletin drafts.
Doxology Press orders.
Shipping deadlines.
Various versions of Jingle Bells in lessons every week.
These are the things our December days are made of (especially if you're a musician!). As much as we long for a slower pace at this time of the year, the truth is this is one of the busiest seasons of all.
We see lots of posts this time of year with ideas for random acts of kindness:
"Smile at someone on the street"
"Say thank you to our service men and women"
"Tape change to a vending machine"
"Pay for the person behind you in the drive-through"
Treating each other with kindness and being intentional about the ways we serve others is important all year round, but the holidays are a good excuse to do a little something extra.
As musicians, we have the opportunity to treat people with kindness and spread a little holiday cheer by sharing the gift of music. After all, as Buddy the Elf says, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!"
Today, I'm sharing 25 ideas for random acts of (musical) kindness. Some are easy enough to do on your own, others would work well with the help of a few friends, and others would be perfect group projects for your choir or studio!
