Oh Holy Night Small Ensemble - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1354327

Written for 1 saprano and 2 altos, this arrangment of Oh Holy Night was written upon request of a family member who had difficulty finding an arrangement for 3 female vocalists. 4 days later and with a day to spare before they left for holidays, the request was happily filled and the result as you see it here. It features two of the 3 verses with a reference to the most important phrase found in the origional's third verse. The chord structures at some points differ from what is commonly associated with this carol and a number of key changes attempt to keep things in a suitable range and entertain the singers with added difficulty, but mostly enables a reverent capture of the attention of the audience. The third verse was not included in full to keep the piece to a suitable length for settings of worship.
To my surprise, some church services at Christmas time leave me un-fed. I keep longing for the reverence that should be and would have been felt in the presence of the newborn of whom this song speaks. There is glory and rejoicing in the arrival of the Christ, yes; I do not wish to overlook this aspect of the season, but the greater emphasis that I intended to accompany this arrangement is that of the often-lacking submissive reverence embodied in the concluding phrase; "behold your King."
The best way to bring the best verision of this piece is to vary the tempo throughout to create more emotion and exagerate the dynamic markings. Begin the piece with awe and contained anticipation, increase in majesty to reflect the praise of angels and the glory of the Christ, then sing as though you enter the place where He rests as you lead your audience thereto. A voice recording is in the works.