Hallelujah: Together Again for the Holidays

Event details

Sunday, December 19, 2021 4:00 p.m.

Hackensack Meridian Health Theater at the Count Basie, 99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank

Reconnect with the joy of live music as we return to our favorite holiday classics.

Premium seats: Single ticket $45 • Senior $40 • Student $15 • Group $35

Regular seats: Single ticket $30 • Senior $27 • Student $10 • Group $25

Health & safety

The safety of our patrons, performers, and volunteers is our number one priority. All performers are fully vaccinated, and all singers will also be subject to testing prior to the performance.

Audience members must comply with the venue’s protocols, which include proof of full vaccination or negative test result. Masks are also strongly encouraged. Click here for full entry requirements.

Please note: Monmouth Civic Chorus will follow any forthcoming state mandates related to Covid-19 that may be released as the performance date nears. All requirements are subject to change, allowing us to best prioritize the safety of our audience members, performers, volunteers, and community. Any changes to our entry requirements will be communicated to ticket holders in advance of the event.

Today’s program

O Come, O Come Emmanuel/God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen — arr. Ryan James Brandau

Poem: Round each untimely (1984) — Written by Bob Kelly, read by Jacqueline Schreiber 

And the Glory of the Lord Shall Be Revealed — from Messiah by Georg Frederic Handel

Sanctus — from The Mass in B minor by Johann Sebastian Bach

Away in a Manger — James Murray, arr. Brandau

From Messiah by G. F. Handel — Justine Aronson, Soprano
There Were Shepherds Abiding in the Field
And, Lo, the Angel of the Lord Came Upon Them
And the Angel said Unto Them
And Suddenly There Was with the Angel

Glory to God — From Messiah by G.F. Handel

I Saw Three Ships — Traditional English, arr. Brandau

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day — John Baptiste Calkin, arr. Brandau — Kenneth Wasser, Baritone

Come Unto Him — from Messiah by G. F. Handel — Justine Aronson, Soprano

Still Still Still/Silent Night — Traditional Austrian, Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr, arr. Brandau

Joy to the World — G. F. Handel, arr. Brandau

Hallelujah — from Messiah by G. F. Handel

INTERMISSION

Sing-along: O Come All Ye Faithful — Latin Hymn, John Francis Wade

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. 
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem 
Come and behold Him 
Born the King of Angels 
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him Christ the Lord!

 What Child is This? — Traditional English, arr. Brandau

Sing-along: Jingle Bells — James Lord Pierpont, arr. Brandau

Dashing through the snow 
In a one-horse open sleigh 
O’er the fields we go 
Laughing all the way. 
Bells on bobtail ring 
Making spirits bright, 
What fun it is to ride and sing 
A sleighing song tonight. 

(Refrain) 
Jingle bells, jingle bells 
Jingle all the way 
Oh what fun it is to ride 
In a one-horse open sleigh, 
Jingle bells, jingle bells 
Jingle all the way 
Oh what fun it is to ride 
In a one-horse open sleigh. 

A day or two ago 
I thought I’d take a ride 
And soon, Miss Fanny Bright 
Was seated by my side. 
The horse was lean and lank 
Misfortune seemed his lot 
He got into a drifted bank 
And then we got upsot.
(Repeat Refrain)

Gesu Bambino — Pietro Yon, trans. Frederick Martens, arr. Brandau — Justine Aronson, Soprano

Deck the Hall — Traditional Welsh, arr. Brandau

Go Tell it on the Mountain — African-American Spiritual, arr. Margaret Bonds — Kenneth Wasser, Baritone

Wassail — Traditional English, arr. Brandau — Matthew Izzo, Tenor

Poem: No Matter How Far Away You Roam (1997) — Written by Bob Kelly, read by Daniel Ford

Auld Lang Syne — Traditional Scots, arr. Brandau

Joy to the World/We Wish You a Merry Christmas — G.F. Handel, arr. Brandau

RJB’s notes on the program

It’s so good to be with you this afternoon! We’re delighted you’ve chosen to celebrate the holidays with us through music. After a year and a half spending more time than ever before sequestered in our homes, we’ve been especially keen to return to our musical home: the concert hall. And what better way to resume than with a concert of holiday music?

Our program reaches back across the ages to some of the first melodies ever written down and presents them alongside familiar carols and the spirited music of Handel and Bach. You’ll hear timeless tunes sung by heart by untold millions over hundreds of years as well as new arrangements on which the ink is barely dry.

The texts of these pieces don’t precisely delineate the stories of the holidays so much as trace their outlines and highlight several moments and key themes: the yearning to be lifted out of darkness and gloom into light and hope, the joy of sharing good news, and the potential for renewal portended by a newborn (and latent in us all). These are touchstones for any ear and every era, acutely poignant in our present predicament. I hope that some combination of word, melody, and space conjures for you a doorway into a precious place we haven’t been able to enjoy for many months—a realm of reflection, even reverie, where you can marvel at the beauty of music.

And while I hope you enjoy your experience as an individual listener, I hope you’ll also take a moment to appreciate the uniquely communal experience of attending a concert. After so much time apart, and so much time alone, listening only to digital signals buzzing metallic speakers, the joyful, comforting, familiar music of the holidays, born of breath and body, enjoyed together, resonates more deeply than ever. We experienced, acutely, the loss of the live music paradigm, and it could, of course, be proscribed once again. And on the more personal level, just as the global community has, our MCC community has experienced the loss of cherished singers and audience members who have passed or moved away. Yet at the same time we’ve welcomed new musicians and listeners. It is the love of music that begets that community and communion.

I sincerely hope that some musical moment experienced today reminds you, palpably, happily, of what a joy it is to be human, alongside others, and what a gift it is to be able to surrender ourselves to one of the most meaningful manifestations of humanity: music. It is in this spirit that our penultimate selection will remind us all how precious it is that music, like the holidays themselves, can bring us together in the present and give an occasion for future reunion. Auld Lang Syne bids us lean on one another, take a cup o’ kindness, and raise a glass for auld lang syne—for the sake of old times—while we turn toward the next chapter. Thank you for choosing to join us this afternoon as we look back and look forward to our next time together. “For there’s a trusty hand, my friend, and give me a hand o’ thine, for we’ll take a right good-will draught for auld lang syne.”

Meet the artists

Poetry

Meet the poet

Bob Kelly, poet, has been distributing his “Christmas card poems” yearly since 1981. He earned an M.A. degree in interpretation from Northwestern University in 1979 and a J.D. from Rutgers in 2006. Bob joined Monmouth Civic Chorus in 1997. He and his wife, Mary Giblin, live in Old Bridge, occasionally joined by their daughter, Kat Crowe. Bob works in Trenton as a Deputy Attorney General in the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety.

MCC members performing

Orchestra members performing

In Memoriam

Monmouth Civic Chorus honors these members and former members lost since our last live performance in December, 2019.

Ruth Avakian
Mary Ann Greco
David Furniss
Genie Hoplock
Caroline Huber
Rick Makin
Linda Szipszky

Keep in touch

While we still send occasional snail mail, most of our communication is online. Please be sure you’re subscribed to our email list so you’ll never miss a beat.

Official trailer

Artistic Director’s welcome

Grab a preview

For the media

Download the press release.

Watch our 2020 virtual holiday concert