WELCOME CHRISTMAS MORNING!

Music: Mack Wilberg
Text: David Warner

This new composition by Mack Wilberg sets lyrics written by David Warner that connect the symbols of Christmas—light, joy, abundance—with biblical metaphors of Christ’s love and atonement. The refrain repeats the Annunciation to the Shepherds, “Gloria in excelsis Deo” (“Glory to God in the highest”) from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, making this a “macaronic” carol that combines multiple languages in its lyrics. Wilberg’s lively musical setting in the style of a traditional folk carol fits into the genre of a “noël,” or a Christmas carol that centers on the joyful message of the Annunciation.