Written in 1943, Judy Garland debuted the song “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in the musical “Meet Me in St. Louis”. With slight lyric modifications, our contemporary version of this holiday favorite was presented by Frank Sinatra in 1957. Molly Ijames has done a lovely job arranging this popular Christmas favorite into a flowing 7-part selection.
Although not among the most well known Christmas carols, the lyrics for “Masters in This Hall” were written around 1860 by English poet William Morris and the music was based on an old French dance tune from Marais’ 1706 opera “Alcyone”. This carol focuses on the poor bringing the good news of Christ’s birth to the “masters” in the hall. Parker and Shaw have masterfully arranged this 16th century feeling a cappella carol to bring out a lively dance feeling.
