Even if you’re already got your Christmas music in rehearsal you might still be stuck looking for an Advent anthem that’s not morose and an Epiphany anthem that’s uptempo. Here’s two you might consider for those needs:
The Songs of Mary and Hannah which is for 2-part mixed choir (unison women, unison men) and piano or organ. I’m not exaggerating when I say this is sight readable by any church choir. It’s also fun to sing. The texts are based on Mary’s Magnificat and its parallel antecedent in the book of Samuel. I had an earlier blog post on this one. The video is of the Lakewood UCC choir last Advent. The score is available at https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/2122993/Product.aspx and https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/the-songs-of-mary-and-hannah-23890938.html.
And for Epiphany, this one: Brightest and Best of the Stars of the Morning, “sung” here by a Cantai synthesizer. I’d love to get even a cellphone recording of a human choir doing it. This one isn’t quite as easy as the first, but a very small choir I subbed as director for learned it in one pre-service rehearsal, so it’s not difficult. You can judge for yourself; the video tracks with the score. The score is available for your choir at https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/2246958/Product.aspx and https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/brightest-and-best-of-the-stars-of-the-morning-24017557.html.
