O Wondrous Night (Consort): Choral Instrumental Pak
Arranged by Joseph M. Martin
Item: 35-PK00338306
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Description
Uses: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Concert
Scripture: Luke 2:7, Luke 2:20
A celebrated folk tune is now grafted to an evocative new Christmas text, and the results are natural and seamless. The miracle of Christmas is held secure in this timeless tune, and the part-writing is filled with a distinctive richness. Here's something familiar presented in a fresh way, and with the variety of voicing and accompaniment options, this is a must-do!
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Additional Details
Publisher:
Hal Leonard
SKU:
35-PK00338306
More about this title
About the Arranger: Joseph M. Martin
Joseph M. Martin studied piano performance at Furman University and later completed his master's degree at the University of Texas, Austin, where he also taught in the Piano Pedagogy Department for five years. His career as a performing artist has taken him across the United States and Mexico, including a featured performance with the Guadalajara Symphony Orchestra as winner of the Nina Plant Wideman Competition, and his solo recital from Ex-convento del Carman was broadcast nationally.
These days, Martin channels his energies toward church music and conferences for church musicians, performing regularly in worship settings across the United States and Canada. His compositions and arrangements have found their way into Carnegie Hall, regional theaters, and countless sanctuaries. Based in Austin, Texas with his family, Martin continues to expand the boundaries of what church musicians and choirs can accomplish with his distinctive catalogue.
Why we love this
Martin takes a melody your choir probably knows and reframes it entirely through fresh harmonic language and a reverent new text. The part-writing feels both sophisticated and singable, giving your ensemble the satisfaction of tackling genuine musical substance without losing the accessibility that makes Christmas music resonate with congregations.
What to expect
Hushed reverence meets musical warmth. The melody carries the quiet wonder of Luke's nativity account, while Martin's harmonies deepen and enrich that simplicity. What emerges is intimate and spacious at once, inviting listeners into a moment of reflection rather than celebration.
Who it's for
Churches seeking a Christmas anthem that feels both grounded and refined, choirs comfortable with part-writing that asks for blend and harmonic awareness, and directors programming a service or concert where familiarity and freshness need to coexist.
How to get the most out of it
- Explore the full range of voicing options before rehearsals begin; selecting which instrumentation and divisi passages suit your ensemble's strengths will shape how you approach rehearsal time and where you focus sectional work.
- Balance the Celtic character of the melody against Martin's richer harmonies by having singers linger slightly on chord changes, allowing the part-writing to speak without rushing through transitions.
- Use the recorded accompaniment strategically in early rehearsals to establish the tune's shape, then gradually shift to live instrumental support so singers gain independence and flexibility with phrasing.
- Attend carefully to the text-music marriage; this arrangement gains its power from how the new words interact with the familiar tune, so clear diction and intentional phrasing will unlock the arrangement's emotional core.
How to use it
This works beautifully as an anchor piece in a Christmas Eve service or concert, grounding the program in scriptural focus while offering enough musical sophistication to satisfy your ensemble. The variety of instrumental and voicing options also makes it flexible for churches with limited resources or those with multiple instrumentalists available.
Skills your students will build
- Blending sustained harmonies across multiple voice parts
- Reading and maintaining independent lines within rich harmonic textures
- Adjusting tone and vibrato for ensemble cohesion
- Interpreting text within unfamiliar melodic settings
- Collaborating with instrumental accompaniment across different orchestration choices