Born For Us This Day
Ring the bells, run with the shepherds, follow the star and kneel with the kings.
Born For Us This Day is a radiant collection of ten original Christmas carols by Nigerian composer Innocent Okechukwu, for SATB choir, piano and chamber orchestra. Together they tell the story of the first Christmas night. Bells peal out the good news, and shepherds hurry down the hillside. A star hangs over Bethlehem, a mother sings her child to sleep, and angels fill the sky with their Gloria. Kings arrive from the East, and a whole town pours into the streets to shout for joy.
The carols range from bright processionals and a whirling, one-in-a-bar Gloria to a tender lullaby, a 12/8 call-and-response dance and a festive trumpet finale. The music features memorable melodies, rich and varied harmony, and texts written to be sung with clear, natural diction.
The Carols
Born For Us This Day
Shepherds, Rise!
Behold The Star
Lullaby for the Little King
Gloria in Excelsis
Alleluia, Christ Is Born
In a Manger, Poor and Low
The Kings Are Coming
Shout for Joy!
Sound the Trumpet!
This edition includes
The complete Vocal Score for SATB choir and piano
The Full Score for choir, piano and chamber orchestra
All 17 Instrumental Parts: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, two horns, trumpet, timpani, glockenspiel, tambourine, suspended cymbal, piano and strings
Program notes, the full texts of every carol, instrumentation and performance notes
A QR code linking to a recording of the complete set
The piano part is complete on its own, so every carol can be performed with choir and piano alone or with full chamber orchestra. Each carol stands on its own for services and carol evenings. Sung in order, the ten form a concert set of about 25 minutes.
These carols suit church choirs, school, college and community ensembles, and concert stages.
About the composer: Innocent Okechukwu is a Nigerian composer with more than two hundred works performed internationally. He is a Ph.D. candidate in Music Composition at the University of Iowa. His music has been recorded by Navona Records in collaboration with the Sphinx Organization, and his published books include Echoes and Vessels and Rising Voices: A K-12 Choral Anthology.
