Celebration of Christmas: Angels Sing [CD] - BYU Combined Choirs and Orchestra

Each Christmas season at Brigham Young University over 500 vocalists and instrumentalists celebrate the season in song. Handpicked from the largest private student body in the country, these students comprise four nationally and internationally acclaimed choirs and the highly praised Philharmonic Orchestra.

These musical organizations are known for their unity, due in part to the superb technical proficiency achieved under the hands of choral conductors Rosalind Hall, Dr. Andrew Crane, Jean Applonie, and Dr. Sonja Poulter, and Philharmonic conductor Kory Katseanes. But there is more. Students and conductors share a strong belief in the spiritual character of music. As one critic observed, “The spiritual element is present in each piece the choirs sing.” This results in performances that are alive, fresh, and heartfelt—performances that overcome boundaries and draw people together.

The music presented here was recorded during the live performances of the December 2018 and 2019 Celebration of Christmas concerts.

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TRACKS

BYU COMBINED CHOIRS

1. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley; arranged by Dan Forrest
Featuring Brassworks

BYU MEN'S CHORUS
2. Where Shepherds Lately Knelt
Craig Courtney, Jaroslav J. Vajda
Featuring Laurence Lowe, French horn

BYU SINGERS
3. Sing We Now of Christmas
NoeÔøΩÔøΩl Nouvelet; arranged by Craig Courtney

BYU CONCERT CHOIR
4. Silent Night
Peter Anglea, Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr, John F. Young
Featuring Jason Bergman, trumpet

BYU WOMEN'S CHORUS
5. Veni, Veni Emmanuel
Traditional; arranged by Michael John Trotta

BYU PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
6. Farandole, from L’Arle‚àö√Æ‚àö‚àè≈í¬©‚àö√Æ‚àö‚àè≈í¬©sienne
Georges Bizet

BYU COMBINED CHOIRS and ORCHESTRA
7. Esta noche
Spanish traditional carol; arranged by John Rutter
Featuring Robert Brandt, baritone

BYU MEN'S CHORUS
8. Noel
Todd Smith; arranged by Brad Holmes

BYU SINGERS
9. The Secret of Christmas
Sammy Cahn, James Van Heusen; arranged by Ronald Staheli

BYU PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
10. Silent Night
Franz Gruber; arranged by Alexander Woods, Aubrey Smith Woods
Featuring Alexander Woods and Aubrey Smith Woods, violin

BYU CONCERT CHOIR
11. Softly
Will Todd

BYU COMBINED CHOIRS and ORCHESTRA
12. Away in a Manger
William J. Kirkpatrick, traditional; arranged by Barlow Bradford

BYU WOMEN'S CHORUS and BYU PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
13. What Child
Paul W. Lovhman, William Chatterton Dix

BYU COMBINED CHOIRS and ORCHESTRA
14. The First Noel
Traditional English carol; arranged by Dwight Bigler


CONDUCTORS BY TRACK: Rosalind Hall: 2, 4, 8, 11, 14; Andrew Crane: 1, 3, 7, 9; Jean Applonie: 5; Sonja Poulter: 12–13; Kory Katseanes: 6, 10

CREDITS

PRODUCERS: Rosalind Hall, Andrew Crane, Jean Applonie, Sonja Poulter, Kory Katseanes
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Ben Fales
RECORDING ENGINEER: Jeff Carter
MIXING ENGINEERS: Guy Randle (tracks 1–2, 4–14); Jeff Carter (track 3)
EDITING AND MASTERING ENGINEER: Troy Sales
PROJECT COORDINATOR: Byron Paul Murphy
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Olivia Jua‚àö√Æ‚àö‚àè≈í¬©‚àö√Æ‚àö‚àè≈í¬©rez Knudsen, Doug Thomas

BYU Records is part of BYU Music Group, an enterprise center in the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts and Communications at Brigham Young University.