Christmas Music

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ItalianBoy1993

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If you are in a choir at your parish, share with us what you’re doing for Christmas!

Here’s what we are:

Before Mass:
Isn’t He
Child of the Poor / What Child is This
Caro Gesu Bambino
O Sanctissima
Venite Adoriamo
Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Silent Night

Mass Begins:
O Come All Ye Faithful
Kyrie - Missa de Angelis
Gloria - John Foley
Responsorial - All the Ends of the Earth - M. Haugen or D. Haas not sure
Credo III
Christmastime Alleluia
Offertory- Angels we Have Heard on High
Holy Holy : Italian
Memorial Acclamation: Italian
Great Amen: Mass of Creation
Agnus Dei - M. Joncas - Fraction Rite
Communion: Tu Scendi dalle Stelle
Meditation: O Holy Night (Italian + English)
Recessional- Joy to the World, Angels We Have Heard, O Holy Night (reprise)

Let me know what you’re doing!
 
Lucky you!

I have no idea what we’re doing for Christmas yet. We just got our list of music for the 4th Sunday Advent yesterday.

Of course I know that some of what we sing on Christmas will be that which we sang at our concert last Friday. But much of that was more secular. But we did do some medleys of Angels We Have Heard on High and Joy to the World which we will probably sing before or during Mass. We usually sing Silent Night in there somewhere.

The adult choir sings for Midnight Mass. The Youth Choir sings at 6:00pm on Christmas Eve. We combine on Christmas morning at 11:00am. I think the Children’s and Junior High Choirs may sing at one of the other Masses but I don’t know which.
 
I’m in the handbell choir so I only know the songs on which we’ll be doing. I don’t know what order they’re in yet though:

O Come All Ye Faithful
Silent Night
Joy to the World
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
Joy to the World
 
Hello,

I don’t join my choir for Christmas Mass as they do the Midnight Mass, which is too late for me (I physically can’t sing in the choir that late - even if I rest during the afternoon - I wouldn’t even make it through the Liturgy of the Word. One time was enough for me to know my limitations). I have said we need to be in union with the Pope and should have our Midnight Mass when he has his - which is 6p.m. where I’m at. 😉

Past experience is that prior to Mass, 1/2 hour of all the hymns and chants used throughout Advent. There are a handful of familiar hymns and chants used (Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle and Silent Night are perennial favorites) and a couple of special ones for the current year. My choir director is involved with the local high school bands so we will many times have an orchestra section (which really crowds our cramp choir loft).
 
At Holy Infant (Ballwin, Mo) we’re doing for the 4:00 PM

Prelude: Call the Baby Jesus
Away In A Manger
God’s Beloved One
The First Noel
Were You There?
Child of the Poor / What Child Is This?

Gathering: Angels from the Realm of Glory
Gloria: Christmas Gloria
Responsorial: A Light Has Shown BB 57 Musician Book 877
Gospel Acc: Mass of Angels & Saints – Christmas verse

Presentation: If He Were Born

Communion: Wood of the Cradle (Francis Patrick O’Brien)
Peace, Peace / Silent Night

Recessional: Happy Birthday, Jesus
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
 
Happy Birthday, Jesus? Oh for the love of everything that was holy, please tell me that is a joke.
 
I’m not quite sure what we’re doing yet (on Christmas Night), but the Mass itself will be Haydn’s Missa Brevis Sancti Joanni de Deo with strings and organ. It is a beautiful Mass and the Gloria is interesting - Haydn shortened it (in the original score) by having all four parts singing different sections - Basses start on ‘Et in terra…’, followed a beat later by Tenors on ‘Domine Deus…’, Altos on ‘Domine fili…’ and Sopranos on ‘Gratias agimus…’. We did it last Easter too, and with the strings, as it was originally, one could just imagine themselves in a church in the 1780’s hearing this… it was magical!

De Angelis is a most beautiful Mass too (especially with the organ on special occasions). It is one I never get sick of. It is a very special Mass for me as my earliest memory of Church-music is hearing that Gloria being sung…

We’ll sing carols for a while before the Mass - some standard ones, and some not so well known ones. And the entrance hymn will be Adeste Fidelis. The psalm will be one composed by the Director of Music. There will be a procession to the crib, and we normally sing at this point a beautiful Irish carol- The Wexford Carol, and then maybe Gaudete. After this, I don’t really know, some more standard carols and some lovely motets by Victoria… It will be very special, as always.
 
I’m the organist for our little cathedral.
Prelude:
Silent Night
Adeste fidelis
God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
Child of the Poor/What Child is This
Song of the Stable
Little Town of Bethlehem

Mass:
Mass of Joy (service music)
Joy to the World
Angels We Have Heard on High
Away in a Manger
O Holy Night (communion meditation)
Go, Tell it on the Mountain
 
I have no idea what we will sing on Christmas, but where did the terms Gathering, Presentation and Sending come from? I thought it was still Processional, Offertory and Recessional. I must be behind times or something. Incedently, I never cared for Silent Night.
 
Christmas carols. Every one in the book, even if only a verse or two. We will end our Mass with the singing of the Posadas and then Feliz Navidad.
 
At least many of you know what you’ll be singing. As an instrumentalist, I probably won’t know until Saturday what I’ll be playing for Midnight Mass just a couple of days later. Our music director tends to slip in the instrumental parts as an afterthought, concentrating more on the choir. We did an Advent/Christmas concert last weekend and I didn’t get my music until the dress rehearsal. :rolleyes:
 
Before mass:
parts of the Christmas Oratorio - Saint-Saens (in Latin)
Every Valley - Patti Drennan
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Away in a Manger
The First Noel
Jubilate Deo - Mozart (in Latin)
Angels We Have Heard On High
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Gloria in Excelsis - Vivaldi (in Latin)
Silent Night
Welcome to Our World (a contemporary song)

Processional: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Gloria: Mass of Creation
Responsorial: Psalm 96 Today Our Savior is Born
Christmas Alleluia - Haas
Offertory: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Mass of Creation for remaining mass parts
Communion: What Child Is This and
Bow Down - Baron & Sutherland (a comtemporary song)
Recessional: Joy to the World

For the people getting their music at the last minute you have my sympathies. I cannot imagine the stress. Even our more trained people have required weeks for some of our pieces. I don’t know how the people who cannot sight read are going to get through the sheer volume since we just received the traditional hymn list this week.
 
Before Midnight Mass choir and congregation participate in a Service of Readings and Carols:

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Isaiah 7:10-14
Away in a Manger
Isaiah 11:1-10
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
Micah 5:1-4
Creator of the Stars of Night

PROCLAMATION OF THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

Processional hymn: Adeste Fideles
Gloria - Community Mass (Proulx)
Psalm 96 (Sung from OCP “Respond & Acclaim”)
Gospel Acclamation - Luke 2 (Sung from OCP “Respond & Acclaim”)
General Intercessions and response - Sung
Song for the Preparation of the Gifts - It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Service Music - Community Mass (Holy, Mem. Acc., Amen); Gregorian chant Agnus Dei
Communion - Silent Night
Communion Meditation - Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart) - A parish family singing 4-part harmony
Recessional hymn - Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
Postlude - Variations on Joy to the World

Teen musicians will play trumpet, oboe, bells along with yours truly on the organ bench.

I am amazed so many posters receive their music almost at the last minute! You must be outstanding musicians, is all I can say. We’ve been rehearsing our hearts out since Thanksgiving.

Wishing all a most blessed Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year…
 
I’m the cantor for 12:30 pm Mass on Christmas Day. The choirs take the Christmas Eve and 10:30am Masses, and the handbells take 8:30am, so it will be just me and the organist. :rolleyes:

According to my music schedule (which was mercifully given to us just after Christ the King Sunday), I’ll be singing:

Processional: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Gloria: Melodic Gloria (Chepponis)
Responsorial Psalm: All The Ends Of The Earth (Psalm 98, setting by Haugen/Hass- but it’s quite lovely, really!)
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia (O’Carroll/Walker)
Preparation: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Sanctus/Amen/Agnus Dei: Mass of the Angels and Saints
Lord’s Prayer: Mass of Creation
1st Communion hymn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
2nd Communion hymn: Silent Night
Recessional: Joy To The World

Please pray for me, as I’m also the cantor tomorrow morning at 10:30am. Whew!
 
Before Mass
-O Come O Come Emmanuel
-Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring (with the solo part on violin)
-What Child is This
-Coventry Carol
-Once in Royal David’s Kingdom

Mass
Processional: O Come All Ye Faithful
Gloria: Hurd Chant Gloria
Psalm: Whatever is in the missalette
Alleluia: Celtic Alleluia
Preparation/Offertory: Away in a Manger
Sanctus and Acclamations: Proulx Community Mass
Agnus Dei: Alstott Heritage Mass
Communion: O Holy Night
Recessional: Joy to the World
 
Preludes:
Lo How a Rose
Christmas Lullaby
Angels we Have Heard on High
And the Glory of the Lord
Sing Noel

Mass:
Processional - Oh Come All Ye Faithful
Gloria - Peter Jones
Responsorial - in the missalette
Gospel acclamation - Celtic
Preparation of Gifts - the First Nowell
Sanctus, Memoral axxlamation Amen, Lamb of God - Mass of Creation
Communion: Silent Night and O Holy Night
Recessional -Joy to the World
Postlude - Halleljah Chorus
 
Before the 5 pm Children’s vigil mass interspersed with readings and a thrown together at the last minute pageant (my children’s choir was recruited to be angels and shepherds during practice this morning) Well, they’ll sing the rest of the mass with us.🤷
Angels we have heard on high
O Little town of Bethlehem
Silent night.

For the mass
O come all ye faithful,
Were you there on that Christmas night + Away in a manger
Child of the Poor/ What Child is this
Silent night
Joy to the world.

The soloist who was going to sing the ‘Ave Maria’ a capella is chickening out because she’s catching a cold. When you loose your voice, the first thing to go is the soprano range.

Mass parts: ‘Lord have mercy’ and ‘Christ has died’ and the ‘Our Father’ will be chants that I’m going to spring on the congregation and stick with for ordinary time…(pray for me) 😃 ,

Gloria and Holy Holy from the mass of creation, and Lamb of God from a Carey Landry children’s mass that we’ve played for years… Psalm and alleluia acclamation are out of OCP’s respond and acclaim.
 
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