Hello, all! New high school choir director. In doing a survey of the men's experiences in choir, one of the things they consistently said they were looking for was a manly piece of music to sing at Christmas time, something maybe not so Austrian-Pastoral as in something that was a bit more heroic.
If you think you have something that fits that idea, could you write a follow-up below? Thanks! God bless!
Also (some suggestions assume this is for a concert, not worship):
Adam lay ybounden Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern Fum fum fum The Boar's Head Carol (teenagers would have special fun with this, I think) The Wexford Carol The Sans Day Carol O Tannenbaum
Tangential mention: Cantique de Noel (ONLY IN THE ORIGINAL FRENCH - not the treacly, pitiful, awful English paraphrase under the name of O Holy Night that should be consigned to the dustbin).
Yes, thank you all. It IS for a CONCERT. Does anybody have any arrangements of these for men's voices that you find particularly suitable? My 9th and 10th grade men's choir is GOOD, and they can handle tricky. I know of many of these titles, but I haven't found an arrangement for men's voices that is solid and not the stuff of cheap publishers trying to make a buck for the holiday season.
You could consider Tschesnokov's "Salvation is Created," arranged for men's voices, either in English, or better, in Russian. Here are a few scores I found with a casual Google search:
Okay, something that came to mind was "March of the Three Kings". Which I have played too many times in orchestral arrangements - - always sounds pretty macho.
Well, OP didn't state if his male chorus was at public/parochial school, and I have experience with both, which includes the requisite defense of scriptural texts and allusions. That said, Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" is very manly. If you want guffaws, "I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas" works. If you wanna go the multicultural route, Harry Belefonte style, try "Da Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy." If you want to straddle some lines, "I wonder as I wander" J.J.Niles, or "I heard the bells on Christmas Day." I echo "Personet Hodie" and "Psallite" as gen-u-ine masculine appealing. Camille's "Tollite Hostias" works well with guys as well. And, anathema get thee behind me, go to JWPepper.com, start with Roger Emerson TB, TTB, TBB Christmas stuff because Roger was in the middle school trenches for decades and has earned his proceeds.
Where will this concert take place? Church? Parish Hall? Where?
>Joubert's Torches is a good suggestion (but it sort of begs for organ accompaniment. >For something moderately challenging and utterly thrilling do check into Willaim Mathias' Wassail Carol
I will also suggest Personent Hodie, Did Holst produce an arrangement for men voices?
Puer Natus in Bethlehem, Alleluia
And since this is a concert the following Carols... Have you got a copy of the Oxford Book of Carols... No.5 The Praise of Christmas No. 11 God rest you Merry Gentleman No.14 Wexford Carol No. 19 Boars Head Carol No. 24 Sussex Carol No 61 Down in yon Forest and the similar No. 184 All Bells in Paradise No. 68 The truth from above No. 76 Es ist ein Ros No. 136 Good King Wenceslas No. 180 Adam lay bounden No. 197 The Crown of Roses
Our modern society finds such a question obscene. Then again, our modern society finds many things obscene - take, for example, the use of the default pronoun "he" in English-- which must be perpetuated, so it may not be a good measure of anything.
Would the question not be more masculine vs. feminine - ironically the soul in relation to the Holy Trinity is feminine - to much politics IMHO and all that jazz.
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