‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house rang this incredible rendition of “O Come All Ye Faithful,” grippingly performed by the Doxology Vocal Ensemble. Released just this year, this college choir has practically reimagined the 18th-century carol in a recording that belongs on every Christmas playlist.
Filled with broad jazz chords and variations on the melody, Doxology’s “O Come All Ye Faithful” never goes exactly where the ear expects it to. Nevertheless, this Baptist vocal ensemble takes the song exactly where it needs to be. We were blown away by the sound of the consistently elevating melody on repetitions of “Christ the Lord,” and it just kept getting better from there.
The fantastic musical elements of this transcendent recording come to a head around three-minutes in, when the whole song modulates. Suddenly, when they reach the line “born this happy morning,” the whole group splits into practically a cacophony of dissonant chords that are as fascinating as they are jarring. It would be a risky maneuver for a lesser choir, but Doxology accomplishes the feat with style.
The Doxology Vocal Ensemble is the premier 16-member vocal ensemble of the Billy Graham School’s Department of Biblical Worship. They excel in a variety of styles, including a cappella vocal jazz, gospel, modern, traditional, and contemporary. They have a lot more Christmas music on the Southern Seminary YouTube Channel. Click here to hear more.
Doxology is also available to stream on Spotify, where “O Come All Ye Faithful” has garnered the top spot on their list of most popular songs.
