Introit For Christmas: Choral Instrumental Pak

Sharp's orchestration gives Watts's text fresh sparkle without losing its reverent core, and the optional handbells transform a capable a cappella setting into something genuinely festive. At just two minutes, it fits naturally into Christmas concerts where you need a moment of controlled brilliance between longer works. The flexibility to perform with or without handbells means you can program it regardless of whether your bells are available or rehearsal time allows for additional parts.

Bright and formal, with the kind of sparkling quality that suggests candlelight and polished silver. The Tschesnokov melody carries a Russian Orthodox sensibility underneath Watts's English text, creating something both familiar and subtly exotic.

Directors programming Christmas concerts who want a piece with liturgical grounding and genuine festive energy, not just seasonal decoration. It works for choirs of moderate experience that can handle the coordinate of optional instrumentation without losing focus on the vocal line.

• Balance the choir's volume carefully when handbells enter; they ring at a fixed dynamic and can easily overwhelm vocal lines if singers aren't singing with intention and clarity.
• Lock the handbell rhythm section to the choir's tempo before rehearsals begin, especially if your bell players are learning the part fresh. Running through it with a click track beforehand prevents drifting.
• Attend to diction in the final phrase to keep it crisp; Christmas music can soften into mushiness if consonants blur.
• Consider whether your space benefits from the additional color handbells provide; a resonant sanctuary might need their brightness, while a dry room could work beautifully a cappella.

Open a Christmas concert with it, or place it early to establish an air of celebration before moving into quieter or more reflective pieces. Its brevity and self-contained character make it an excellent palate cleanser between longer choral works.

• Singing with textual clarity over instrumental accompaniment
• Coordinating vocal entries with handbells
• Maintaining consistent vocal tone in a piece with primarily bright, forward energy
• Balancing ensemble blend when the accompaniment adds harmonic color