Two Choral Hymns for Advent

Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light and Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

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Because of a scheduling conflict, our church started Advent a week early this year. (Is that even possible? I guess so.) The change did, however, yield two lovely choral hymns, which helps make up for the Sundays in December when the choir won’t be singing, which will be all but December 10th.

The first hymn, the call to worship, is Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light, sung a capella. For anyone who remembers what hymnals used to look like inside — we still have them in the pews — most of the hymns were presented as lyrics with four-part harmony, including all or almost all of the older ones. The choir still sings those harmonies each week, accompanying the congregation, but it’s not very audible.

I once knew someone that had grown up in a church that didn’t believe in using musical instruments, and that congregation had sung everything a capella, with harmony. And that’s what we did here, although it was only the choir singing. Most of those who still sing parts, let alone a capella, are in the choir anyway. So this is what it sounds like. I think it’s wonderful to hear.

The second hymn, the offertory, is Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming, accompanied by piano, organ, and instrumental ensemble. I think they both turned out extremely well.

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The Sunday after Thanksgiving presents challenges for everyone involved in producing it. We have no choir rehearsal that week, and the choir had to polish the a capella piece by showing up early and practicing beforehand. The worship co-leader was substituting, on very short notice, and was learning some of the words during the run-through (we do this to her far too often!). Then there was the other outside group of musicians scheduled for the prelude and postlude, that canceled on us, last-minute I guess. All I know is I had to remove them from the slides.

The woman running house sound was soloing on the console (she’s assisted there for quite some time) with nobody around to assist her much of the time. I was back with her, but running screens (ProPresenter — the slides and lyrics), and that’s an all-consuming job in itself. I’ve so far not learned that console anyway — it’s an older Soundcraft — and I wouldn’t have been much help, but we had a good conversation going, during the moments when there was time to breathe.

I was a little disappointed with not being up there with the choir for the a capella piece, after having rehearsed it for several weeks, but I got to hear it on my monitor headphones — best seat in the house! — while turning slides.

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Recorded at Christ Community Church, Carmichael, California, November 26, 2023
Excerpted from youtu.be/WT4aXGoLoww