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This is Why the Angels Sing – Accompaniment edition – PDF

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This is Why the Angels Sing: Songs for Advent and Christmas
by Jonathan Berkahn

Accompaniment edition. A4 PDF,64pp

Provides SATB singing parts with guitar chords, plus a separate piano accompaniment.

Praise for This is Why the Angels Sing
It has been my delight to sing many of these songs with Festival Singers accompanied by Jonathan. He has a happy knack of writing melodies and arrangements that are shaped by the words and bring them to life. Heather and I have introduced our congregation to several of Jonathan’s songs and some have made it into our permanent repertoire. They work well accompanied simply by a guitar or by a piano. Now is the perfect time to introduce these wonderful songs to your congregation.  

Philip Garside – publisher, singer & lay preacher

 Introduction

This is why the angels sing,
Why the shepherds stand in awe,
This is why we join the song
Of the saints who came before:
Glory! Glory in the highest heaven!

For Monika Smith, at whose house so many of these songs were written

Every Christmas Eve, for the last decade or so, we have enjoyed a traditional German Weihnachtsabend at Monika’s place. We have eaten, opened presents, lit the candles on the Christmas tree, and sung carols. And, like as not, at nine o’clock, I will still have been finishing a song to be rehearsed by a small singing group that night at ten…

These days – for the first time in my life – I now have an actual four-part church choir, who for some reason like to practise their music in advance, so things are not quite as bracingly seat-of-the-pants as they have been in the past. But I still try to have something fresh each year.

Most of these songs existed initially as single-line melodies with chord indications, but I have arranged them (except for the childrens’ songs) for SATB for greater usefulness.

This book exists in two forms, one with the vocal parts only (and chord indications if necessary), the other with simple keyboard arrangements. These should be taken only as suggestions, and freely embellished according to taste and inclination.

If you’d like to be kept abreast of future Little Fish Productions, contact the composer at jonathan@berkahn.net.nz

 Blessings, 
Jonathan
Advent 2021

© Jonathan Berkahn 2021
Little Fish Productions

Song list

This is why
Advent introit (Blessed is he)
Advent song (From the black stump)
Awake! (From the darkness of our night)
Hark the glad sound!
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day
Unto us
Rorate (No sudden thing of glory and fear)
And art thou come with us to dwell?
How sweet the angels’ song
All who would see God’s greatness
For unto us a Child is born
Have you heard?
Love is born
Behold, the joyful day is nigh
Be not afraid
From East to West, from shore to shore
Emmanuel (Will God in very truth)
Gloria in excelsis Deo
O magnum mysterium
Saviour, tear the heavens open
Everybody, come and gather here
Only the animals
Christmas tree song
Would you have any room for us?
Shepherds’ round
Let there be room
 

Metronome indications

Buy the Vocal edition here: https://payhip.com/b/GDo38

Check out Festival Singers' digital albums which also include music by Jonathan:
https://payhip.com/FestivalSingersNZ

You will get a PDF (2MB) file

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