For today in Bethlehem is a “present tense” re-telling of the the story of the angels and the shepherds.
It is scored for S.A.T.B. choir with piano accompaniment.
Duration: about 4 minutes
lyrics : audio : score
Lyrics:
Silent night falls over Bethlehem. Sheep are settled quietly in their folds. Shepherds gather, huddled round a fire upon the hillside. Just an ordinary night.
Silent night falls over Bethlehem. (But the sky is brightening.) Sheep are settled quietly in their folds. (There is a stirring.) Shepherds gather, huddled round a fire upon the hillside. (Now some stand to stare…) Just an ordinary night. (What is that bright light?) What is that bright light? What is that… extra-ordinary sight?
Glory! Glory shines around. “Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid! Glory be to God in the Highest! I come to bring Good News of great joy for all the people. For today in Bethlehem the saviour of the world is born. The saviour which is Christ the Lord!
This is the sign: You’ll find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger because there was no room for them to stay inside the inn.”
All at once there is a company of angels praising God: saying, “Glory be to God on high and Peace on Earth… Goodwill! Goodwill to all. Alleluia! Glory in the Highest. I come to bring Good News of great joy for all the people. Joy! The saviour of the world is born. The saviour which is Christ the Lord! The saviour which is Christ our Lord!
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Audio:
Audio recording of For today in Bethlehem
Disclaimer: This audio recording is shared only to illustrate the piece – not as a definitive recording.
(It was recorded under “Covid restrictions” using over-dubbing and transposed/pitch-shifted vocals – a “one tweaked voice” production!)
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Score:
Download this score:
This work © 2009 & 2021 by G D J Jennings is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
To download, please click HERE to open the pdf in your browser.
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