O Holy Night

Multiple versions of this work are available.

Click on one for a score preview and more information.


Composer: Adolphe Adam, arr. Sam Kauffman and Joel Rittenhouse
Lyricist/text source: Placide Cappeau, trans. John Sullivan Dwight
Language: English
Duration: 3:00
Year: 2014

A fresh spin on a Christmas classic. Co-arranger Joel Rittenhouse and I have added little new variations throughout the piece, just enough to keep it interesting and new while still allowing the soloist to shine with all the schmaltz the audience will expect from this song.

A simple opening solo section with a tintinnabulary choral accompaniment is followed by a lush, antiphonal choral passage featuring duple, triple, and hemiola subdivisions bouncing off each other. The bells return briefly to bring the soloist back for a big finish, punctuated by joyous choral outbursts. After the soloist’s climactic high note, the bells bring the piece to a peaceful close.

The SATB version has a fair amount of divisi, up to eight parts in one passage, but no solo there, so it can be sung by as few as eight singers. The TTBB version splits into two TTBB choirs in the middle section, but there is no solo there, and due to doubling it can be sung by as few as seven singers.

A portion of the revenue goes to co-arranger Joel Rittenhouse.

Performance of the TTBB version by Striking Accord, December 15, 2018. Joel Thomas, soloist.

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