Christmas Musicals for Church
Issue link: http://read.jwpepper.com/i/144439
150 Christmas Is Coming This exciting opening number begins with a brief instrumental "fantasia" of carol excerpts that beautifully captures the spirit of the musical and season. (Arranger Gary Rhodes said he was inspired by Respighi's "Pines of Rome"!) If you choose to have your choir already in place, you can have non-choir individuals (youth work especially well) come down the aisles and greet the audience. They can also hand out special Christmas mementos (special ornaments, etc). If you elect to have your choir process in, they should be in place for their choral entrance on "Christmas Is Coming." During this up-tempo number, it would also be appropriate to bring in your children's choir – especially if they also come down the aisles of the sanctuary. They should join in with the adult choir on the last chorus. O nl y Everywhere It's Christmas with Christmas In Kentucky Steven Curtis Chapman's new song about adult Christmas memories mixes perfectly with a new song about kids making Christmas memories in the present – and sending them electronically around the world. The women's trio for "Christmas In Kentucky" will sing in front of the other two groups. re vi ew Heaven in the Real World Playoff music has been provided so that you can exit your children's group. They could even wave to the audience and call out "Merry Christmas" as they exit. The female trio will return to the choir at this time as well. The musical now takes a more reflective turn as the narrators ask the audience to consider what piece of the Christmas puzzle may be missing. The answer is presented in "Heaven in the Real World." The male trio that leads this song will sing in front of the choir. Fo rP He Has Come for Us with God Is With Us "Heaven in the Real World" provides the bridge to the Biblical section of the musical. As the narration for "He Has Come for Us" begins, the male trio returns to the choir. If you have the ability to alter lighting, the mood should now be more meditative, perhaps a deep blue. The spoken prophecies from Isaiah and Micah (measures 43-50) should be delivered by individuals other than the narrators. They can be individuals from the choir, outside readers, or costumed Biblical characters. If you plan to stage the various events of the nativity, you can augment this song with lit candles, an altar, and other objects of Hebrew worship including a scroll or a menorah. "He Has Come for Us" has been rewritten in the future tense for this position in the musical as "He will come for us." This powerful chorus can be taught to your congregation in the weeks preceding the musical so that they can sing with the choir at this juncture and in the Finale. Waiting Here for You This evocative worship song has been reimagined to express the hearts of Mary and Joseph as they receive the angelic message that Mary will bear the Son of God. The solos can either be sung by soloists from the choir or by the actual characters of Mary and Joseph. You can also have the solos performed by soloists and have the characters of Mary and Joseph react to the action described in the narration and lyrics. (It is suggested that you not use a costumed angel but simply have Mary and Joseph respond to an intense white light; this is often far more effective.) If you elect to use costumed Biblical characters, you can also reconfigure the opening narration and bridge narration (measures 42-47 in "Waiting Here for You") so that the characters of Mary and Joseph can actually deliver their dialogue. (The angel's lines can still be delivered by the narrator.) The narrators can