Voices of Connection: 12/25 Away in a Manger / O Come All Ye Faithful

Today we present two carol arrangements by David Willcocks. Willcocks was the director of the choir of King’s College Cambridge, and the editor of 100 Carols for Choirs, a mainstay of Christmas-time choral programming. The first, “Away in a Manger” exists in two different tunes—this one is probably less familiar to American audiences, but actually a slightly later composition (this tune dates from 1894). “O Come All Ye Faithful,” with it’s soaring last-verse descant (here presented as the second of two verses, with the intervening 4 skipped), is also familiar; note the skip in the melody on the second syllable of the word “Angels”—this is the way it is written in almost all notated sources, but probably not the way almost any of us first learned it. Speaking as a lover of singing in general and group singing in particular, I’ll say only that to me, outside of a professional recording, either way is perfectly correct—the only wrong way to sing it is not to join in at all! — Wesley Chinn

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TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS CAROLS (arr. David Willcocks)
Away in a Manger
O Come All Ye Faithful

Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director
David Enlow, Organ

Recorded live at the Voices of Ascension CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS CONCERT
December 12, 2018, The Church of the Ascension, New York City
The singers in this performance are represented by the
American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.

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