When you think of the Holiday season what is one of the first things that comes to mind? Do you imagine the smell of gingerbread cookies in the oven, the smell of pine trees in the living room, or maybe the sight of Christmas lights scattered around town? For me it was always my holiday choir concert like the one I attended by the SIUE choirs. The first choir to perform, was the Choral Society, they sang a total of six songs. This group was not my favorite however; I did enjoy their performance of Away in a Manger arraigned by Shaw/Parker in 2012. This song is one of many Christian Christmas classics. For the majority of the song the tempo was largo. The choir sang this song in legato meaning smoothly and connected. I enjoyed this song reminded me a lot of my childhood, because it is sung like a lullaby making you feel calm and relaxed. After the Choral Society performed their set the Concert Choir began their set with Let the People Praise Thee by Maurice Manhart. This piece was among my favorites for the night, it was performed acapella by a group of twenty-two singers. The opening of this song reminds me …show more content…
When the choir began to sing this song I immediately recognized it. I sang this song with my high school choir. The meaning of this song is very powerful. Before the choir began to sing two girls introduced it. They discussed the back story and how they personally connected with this piece. Both girls had some kind of Serbian background, which is where this piece originated. Like Let the People Praise Thee, Prayer of the Children was also sung acapella. I believe that when a piece is sung acapella it allows the performers to focus on the meaning and dynamics on a deeper level. As I stated at the beginning, this piece was my favorite of the night and I enjoyed every minute of the