Longing For The Light (A Service For Advent): Choral Instrumental Pak
Item: 35-PK00460838
$175.00
Pickup currently not available
Buy Extra Parts (Digital PDF Download)
Parts Added to Cart!
Description
This moving cantata is a worship service of contemplation and reflection. Based on the classic Evensong service, the work is appropriate for choirs looking for a something that is both traditional and yet very innovative. A profound blending of message and music, the writers have provided a moving invitation to quietly consider the advent moment from an ancient yet relevant perspective, while the narration for multiple readers and congregation poignantly weaves everything together. Though brief, this powerful work will be an inspiring moment as your church prepares for the Christmas event. Truly inspired! Songs include: "'Tis the Winter of Our Longing; O Come, Thou Wisdom; O Come, Thou Branch of Jesse's Tree; O Come, Thou Key of David; O Savior, Open Heaven Wide; Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus; Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying; O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." Score and Parts (fl, ob, eng hn, vn 1-2, va, vc, db).
Longing For The Light (A Service For Advent): Choral Instrumental Pak isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.
Request This Title
Tell us you want it.
Start Your Free Trial
Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Publisher:
Hal Leonard
SKU:
35-PK00460838
More about this title
Why we love this
The genius here is structural: this cantata wraps eight beloved Advent hymns into a cohesive liturgical experience rather than treating them as standalone anthems. The inclusion of multiple reader parts and congregational involvement transforms a choral performance into genuine corporate worship, which changes how both singers and listeners experience the music. You get the gravitational pull of traditional hymnody paired with orchestration that feels contemporary without abandoning reverence.
What to expect
Quiet expectation suspended in candlelight. The music invites pauses and holds silence as sacred as sound, drawing the listener inward through familiar melodies recontextualized by instrumental color and reflective pacing. This is Advent as vigil, not as a countdown to shopping season.
Who it's for
Churches with established choirs and instrumental ensembles seeking a single work that can anchor their entire Advent worship series. This serves directors who want to deepen contemplative space during the season rather than rush toward celebration, and it rewards singers with a project that feels both substantial and spiritually purposeful despite its brevity.
How to get the most out of it
- Balance the narration carefully with the instrumental ensemble; the readers should inhabit their parts as fully as the singers do, since their text carries theological weight alongside the music.
- Attend to the transitions between hymns. Even though they're brief moments, they set the pacing that either hurries your congregation along or invites them into genuine reflection.
- Prepare your string players to lead the harmonic foundation with clarity. The orchestra here isn't padding but a conversation partner with the choir.
- Invite your congregation into the relevant hymns ahead of time through rehearsal or printed guidance. Their participation is not optional background; it's essential to the work's purpose.
How to use it
Schedule this as a complete standalone Advent service or festival rather than scattering its movements across multiple Sundays. The cumulative power of eight hymns and narration depends on experiencing them together, ideally positioning the work as your church's defining artistic moment in the weeks before Christmas.
Skills your students will build
- Singing within a liturgical structure that blends congregational participation with choir leadership
- Responding to orchestral cues and balancing ensemble sound in real time
- Interpreting text that carries theological substance alongside musical meaning
- Sustaining contemplative expression across a medium-length work without momentum-driven pacing