We asked a few composers to share one of their favorite Christmas pieces they had arranged and explain why it meant so much to them. We hope you enjoy reading these stories and getting to know the inspiration behind the music.
Dan Forrest
Angels We Have Heard on High
Sometimes my most recent piece is my current favorite, simply because it’s been on my mind so much, and I’m eager to share it. As I’ve written so much Christmas music, it’s hard to choose a past favorite, so it’s easier to focus on my most recent Christmas piece.
Commissioned by Luther College for their 2023 Christmas concert, Angels We Have Heard on High is inspired by all the expressions of musical joy in the carol text: angels sweetly singing, the mountains echoing their joyous strains, the shepherds’ jubilee, the glad tidings inspiring heavenly song, and more. I pictured all of heaven and earth joining in a glorious dance of joy, and also made the most of the musical opportunities of the long melismas that we’ve all loved singing since we were children (the longest melismas in most hymnals!). I also relished the opportunity to slow down the refrain, in an inner stanza, and explore the possibilities for adding layers of instrumental counterpoint against slower-sung melody. I hope all who hear this work will experience a renewed sense of Christmas joy!
Heather Sorenson
There Is a Song in the Air
I’ve always loved the text to the old carol There’s a Song in the Air, and yet I never particularly enjoyed the corresponding tune. The heavy waltz melody (almost martial in quality) always felt too overbearing for the gentle text, and for most congregations wasn’t all that singable. Maybe this is why it’s one of the lesser-known carols in our congregations today? So, I repackaged the beloved lyrics in a new melody and added some original material. I smiled the whole time I wrote the bridge, imagining the angels joyfully stomping their feet and clapping in rhythm in their song of celebration!
Molly Ijames
Away in a Manger (Forever Amen)
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to church music. At a very young age, I developed a deep desire to impact congregational, choral, and instrumental music as it is sung and played in corporate worship settings. Choral music is often the church composer’s bread and butter in terms of financial income, but my choral writing often involves the congregation as well because congregational singing is so central to corporate worship.
Hearing Phil Wickham’s new setting of Away in a Manger in the fall of 2022 simply captivated me. I loved how his textual revisions and countermelody left a beautiful new imprint on the carol that I’d grown up cherishing. I wanted our congregation to benefit from the elegance of the newly written material, so I wrote an arrangement for our choir to sing for our Christmas program, and it soon became a favorite for our whole church.
I pray that our worship services will be filled with truth and beauty for generations to come, and I’m deeply grateful for arrangement ideas like these to help point your worship in that direction, whether choral moments or otherwise. Thank you for allowing me a small influence in your corporate worship. May God be seen in every detail of both our private and collective worship as we serve Him together!
Mark Hayes
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
I have many favorite Christmas anthems, but I will choose Gloria in Excelsis Deo to tell you about.
It’s a composition that is high energy from the word go. The eight-part divisi is certainly challenging, but it can be a dynamic concert opener for well-prepared high school, church, collegiate, and community choirs. It utilizes both Latin and English texts. The mixed meter and quick tempo heighten the celebratory nature of the anthem. For those choirs fortunate enough to have orchestras at their disposal, the full orchestration adds drama and color to this work.
Lloyd Larson
Love Will Be Born
The Advent/Christmas anthem that stands out most in my mind is a Beckenhorst Press publication titled Love Will Be Born. It was my very first published anthem (© 1982). At the time, I was on staff at a church in Columbus, Ohio where Beckenhorst is located and had the good fortune of meeting composer John Carter, who was doing some part-time editorial work at Beckenhorst. John introduced me to the late John Ness Beck. John Carter also introduced me to his wife and gifted lyricist, Mary Kay Beall. Mary Kay penned the lyrics for Love Will Be Born and passed it along for me to set. When John Beck agreed to publish it, it was like a whole new world opened to me within the music publishing industry.
Even with that published anthem, though, I never envisioned that writing music would eventually become my day job! I had believed my life’s calling to be music ministry in the local church setting. As a result, my writing remained a very part-time endeavor until I decided to launch into it full-time in 1994. But with this change, I continued to believe and live out my calling to serve the church at the local level in music ministry, including my own leadership roles in my home church in Minnesota for nearly 30 years now.
After doing this for 40+ years (composing for churches like yours and mine), I gratefully harken back to the publication of that first anthem, Love Will Be Born. It was that anthem that opened so many doors to life-long friendships, meaningful work, and a redefining of my call to music.
You can also see a new list of “Composers’ Favorite Modern/Contemporary Christmas Anthems here.
