Lifelong Coordinator

Mark Nabholz, Lifelong Coordinator

Three Low-Stress Anthems for Church Choirs: Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas

Spring is here, which means that it's time to start planning fall repertoire! Here are three anthems and a resource that you may want to consider as you look ahead to Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas 2018.

Thanks Be To Thee

SAB, piano or organ

G. F. Handel, arr. Anna Mae Nichols

Hope Publishing Co., A457

Utilizing the famous Largo aria from Handel's opera, Xerxes, this three-part anthem for thanksgiving provides a rare opportunity for the small choir to sing sustained lines with plenty of supportive accompaniment – and it can be learned with a minimum of rehearsal time. Vocal ranges are modest, and the text from an unnamed source is ideal for the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day:

Thanks be to Thee, Thanks be to Thee!

Thy holy name be ever blest, Glory, honor, and praise be Thine!

Thanks be to Thee, Thanks be to Thee!

Thy holy name be ever blest, Praise, adoration, we sing unto Thee.

Thy loving kindness doth forever prevail,

Tenderly guiding all those who come unto Thee.

Thanks be to Thee, Thanks be to Thee!

Thou art the King o’er land and sea.

Praise, adoration, we sing unto Thee.

While no recording of this particular setting is available on the internet, you can listen to the original aria source, sung by the incomparable countertenor, Andreas Scholl, here: https://youtu.be/N7XH-58eB8c

Comfort, Comfort

SATB

John Ferguson

Augsburg Choral Library, 0-8006-4635-5

Bright and dancing, this brief anthem is ideally suited to the first Sunday of Advent. Pachelbel's tune, FREU DICH SEHR, is given a charming treatment that includes a brief instrumental ritornello between verses that can be played either by keyboard or the preferred flexible instrumental trio of winds and tambourine. Don't let the ritornello scare you off – it is within the reach of average, amateur players.

The text is a paraphrase of Isaiah 40:1-5, in which the prophet looks forward with hope to the coming of Christ, with references to John's voice crying in the wilderness.

Preview here: https://youtu.be/Bbk1eagEjOw

The First Noel

SATB & keyboard

Dan Forrest

Beckenhorst Press, BP1857

For those already familiar with the superlative arrangements of Dan Forrest, it will come as no surprise that his setting of "The First Noel" is gracious to the voice, creatively accompanied, and broadly accessible to choirs of varied abilities. Essentially homophonic in texture, the alternation between women (SA) and men (TB) provides interest, warmth, and beauty; and the soaring soprano countermelody will make this an instant favorite with your choir and your audience or congregation.

Preview here: https://youtu.be/NRSqp4hoFVo

Title: The Shaw-Parker Book of Christmas Carols: Twenty-Four Collected Carols for Unaccompanied Mixed Chorus

           

Publisher: G. Schirmer, HL50481497

ISBN: 0-7935-1064-3

Two dozen classic sacred and secular carol arrangements by iconic choral personalities Robert Shaw and Alice Parker, packed between the covers of a slender paperback volume, provides a powerful resource for Christmas planning at school and church. Familiar carols such as "Fum, Fum, Fum," "The Holly and the Ivy," and "What Child is this" are supplemented with less familiar fare ("Susanni," "Touro-louro-louro!," "Ya viene la vieja").

At today's prices, purchasing a copy of each anthem separately, you will spend over $50.00, but the book retails at $15.95. Whether you purchase it for your full choir or not, I highly recommend having a copy on your book shelf for reference!