It’s that time of year—fall choirs are starting back up, and preparation for Christmas is underway! To help get you in the Christmas spirit, we asked several composers and arrangers to share one of their favorite Christmas pieces they’ve written or arranged. Enjoy their stories and get to know the hearts behind the music.
Elaine Hagenberg
Love’s Pure Light
Silent Night is one of the most cherished carols of all time, and in Love’s Pure Light, I set out to reimagine it by creating a new melody that echoes the gentle voice of a mother rocking her newborn child.
In the second verse, a quiet quotation from the traditional Silent Night melody emerges in long, sustained tones, gradually building to a bold, climactic refrain. On the words “Son of God,” the music bursts open as if the heavens have filled with angels proclaiming their good news.
In this piece, I sought to balance the quiet mystery of the manger with the radiant awe of Christ’s birth, inviting us to embrace both tenderness and glory woven throughout the Christmas story.
Joseph M. Martin
And the Stars Sang
When asked to decide on my favorite holiday piece, I struggled at first. They all help me recall treasured times of sacred connection. As I looked back through my catalogue of published works, I discovered that through the years I had really written a plethora of Christmas lullabies. It is a genre that is strangely out of proportion to some of the other categories of holiday song. As I pondered this, my heart remembered something that was one of the most wondrous and magical moments of my life.
On a golden day in 1989, I became father to a beautiful baby boy named Jonathan. This miracle changed everything for me. I vividly remember the cautious trip home from the hospital and those first precious days with my son. I recall carrying Jonathan carefully to the nursery and placing him in his crib.
A little later that first evening, this idyllic quiescent scene gave way to some spirited crying. Without hesitation, I headed to the nursery and gently cupped Jonathan in my arms and began to rock him. “Hey, little buddy, what’s wrong?” He calmed a little as I softly spoke his name. As I held my tiny, magnificent miracle, something wondrous and unexpected happened. There in that quiet little room, I began to softly sing. It was a simple tune from a grateful heart, and it began to rise from me like a prayer.
He’s Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan Barrett boy.
His daddy loves him, Jonathan Barrett boy!
My spirit soared with the thought, “I am singing my first lullaby. I am a dad!” As simple as it was, this lullaby touched me in a way that I cannot explain. This time, the song found me.
I sometimes dream about what that first lullaby must have been for Mary and Joseph. Each time I am composing my yearly Christmas cantata and the manger movement arrives, I cannot help but revisit my own first lullaby, and once again the song finds me. It fills me with joy, and I pour my praise into my pen.
So it is with the anthem And the Stars Sang. This song is about Mary’s first lullaby and those first precious moments with Jesus.
Cindy Berry
Come, O Come
One of the most rewarding blessings that God has allowed me to have was directing children’s choirs in three different churches over a period of forty years. I still love hearing children’s sweet voices lifted in worship. A few years ago, when Celebrating Grace Music asked me if I would write a multigenerational Christmas piece, I was glad to agree. Come, O Come is written for SATB with optional children’s choir (or solo). Written in a flowing 6/8 meter, it is an invitation to “Come and see the baby in a manger; God’s own Son, born today in Bethlehem.” After a bridge, you will also hear a short reference to O Come, All Ye Faithful before returning to the main theme. Careful attention was paid to ranges for the children’s voices, as well as to the ease of learning for both children and adults. There are also optional parts available for violin, cello, handbells (two octaves), and percussion. I pray that this tender anthem of adoration might have special meaning as your children and adults lead in celebration of our Savior’s birth.
Michael John Trotta
Silent Night, Holy Night
The awe and wonder of the season are captured in the simplicity of the Silent Night tune and text familiar to us all. It has always been a favorite of mine and is the most requested Christmas arrangement. When I had the opportunity to write this version, I wanted to keep the simplicity of the original melody and gradually build to the final climactic verse with soaring optional descant. It works with full orchestra or piano accompaniment only. It is easy enough for an average church choir to learn and sophisticated enough for the definitive version to be recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.
