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The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah is one of the most well-known and beloved orchestral pieces among fans of classical music. If you ever have the opportunity to see a live performance of the Messiah, know that it’s traditional for the audience to stand during the Hallelujah Chorus. The entire work is equally suited to Christmas and Easter.

It’s also one of the most fun pieces a choir can sing, because of how the melody passes from part to part, and how everyone gets equal moments to shine, even the altos! {e:delight} Not to mention how uplifting and inspirational the piece is.

Some traditionalists dislike the Soulful Celebration arrangement of this piece because “you can’t mess with perfection” and blah blah blah. Yes, the original sounds like angels singing. But you can’t tell me that the additions of trumpets, organ, drums, guitar, bass, and a hand-clappin’ gospel choir featuring syncopated rhythms adds nothing to the piece. I my opinion, it breaths new life into an old classic. I’ve included the original below for comparison. In the original, notice the rustling sound of the audience standing as they recognize the introduction to the piece.

Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!
The kingdom of this world is become
The Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ
And He shall reign for ever and ever!
King of Kings, for ever and ever
And Lord of Lords, Hallelujah Hallelujah

For comparison, here is the original Hallelujah Chorus by G. F. Handel:

What would a 12 Days celebration be without “12 Days” by Straight No Chaser? This men’s a capella group features witty twists on classic songs, bad choreography, amazing harmonies and gorgeous vocal tone. Watch for cameos of the following songs:

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
“Deck the Halls”
“The Boar’s Head Carol”
“Carol of the Bells”
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
“I Have a Little Dreidel”,
…and “Africa” by Toto!

Here’s a snippet of the hilarious “Africa” lyrics:
Nine ladies dancing, they were dancing for me
Eight maids-a-milking, they were milking just for me
I had Christmas down in Africa…

Enjoy!

This foot-tappin’, hip-shakin’ modern classic featuring the vocal stylings of Mistress of Pop Mariah Carey needs no further introduction. Go ahead and set your player on repeat. You know you want to.

Enjoy.

This version of “Joy to the World” begins with improvised gospel piano and organ and the gorgeous tone and amazing vocal embellishments of Natalie Grant on the first verse. I especially love the waterfall sound made by the piano at 0:44. After the freestyle introduction, a descending piano progression ending with two steady quarter-note chord hits kick off the upbeat portion of the song, featuring the addition of trumpets, bass, drums, and of course, a gospel choir. There are some fun chord changes throughout that make the arrangement unique compared to the tradition carol; for example, at 1:38. At the beginning of the second verse, around 2:11, there’s a dramatic moment when everything drops out on the downbeat and comes back in the syncopated beat.

If you don’t find yourself wanting to dance to this one, you’re probably dead.

Joy to the World
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
Let heaven and nature sing

He rules the world with truth and grace
He makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love

Enjoy:

This version of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” in blues rock style opens with a deep solo electric guitar riff. After twice through the riff, the guitar is joined by rock organ and drums on a syncopated beat.The vocal embellishments follow the seventh chord progression that is typical of a blues. A gospel choir joins in each refrain, beginning in the first refrain around 1:10. A single backup singer enhances the verses here and there, starting at the end of Verse 2. The lead guitar and organ have wonderful solo moments throughout. There’s a neat drama point around 2:41 featuring nearly a capella vocals, with some echo on the vocal processor and just a hint of tinkling on the organ, finishing off with a power moment when the bass guitar kicks a rich sustained note at 2:53. Then the rest of the band kicks back in for the last chorus and outro.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel:
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear

O come o come thou wisdom from on high
Through of all things far and nigh
To us the path of knowledge to show
And cause us in her ways to go

Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come for thee, O Israel

Enjoy:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ev85WChdGh4