Billy’s Blog

The Merriest Time of Year (Publication)

Tue, 26 May 2009 08:12:50 -0400

Billy sent in a copy of the live recording to Hal Leonard, the worlds largest print music publisher. They liked it and wanted to pick it up. Here is their published version of “The Merriest Time of Year” as arranged/orchestrated by Billy and recorded by professionals.

The Merriest Time of Year (Live)

Sun, 24 May 2009 17:12:41 -0400

Billy created parts for choir and orchestra using Eulalia’s demo as a guide. He also listened to a lot of Manhattan Transfer in order to try and emulate their signature sound. In the above clip, you can see and hear the premier performance of this arrangement with Babbie Mason and the Roswell Street Baptist Church choir and orchestra.

The Merriest Time of Year (Demo)

Fri, 22 May 2009 07:45:09 -0400

For the next three posts, we will take the song “The Merriest Time of Year” through three different stages. The first of which is the “demo.” Babbie Mason and Billy got together to talk about taking some of her original Christmas songs and arranging them for choir and orchestra. One of the songs discussed was this song co-written and demoed by Eulalia King. The idea was to use it as the opening number; something high energy and jazzy that Babbie could jump right into after being introduced. An ensemble could join her on the stage singing Manhattan Transfer type harmonies while the choir filled the loft and joined in on the final chorus.

Mary’s Little Baby (Part 4 of 4)

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 20:21:08 -0400

I thought we’d never get to part four! If you search this blog, you’ll find part one, the original demo. Part two was an arrangement for choir, orchestra and alto soloist. Part three was a rewrite for choir, orchestra, and soprano soloist. Hal Leonard called Billy’s orchestration “stellar” and picked it up for publication, hence part four posted here. (I had this audio when I posted the the first three parts, but it’s taken several weeks to get the final anthem artwork.) You’ll notice that they decided to record the above demo using a tenor soloist. Listen to all four and tell me which one you like best!

Thanksgiving Praise

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:11:27 -0400

This arrangement was originally of the hymn, “We Gather Together.” When it came time to publish it, the publisher realized that there was a choral arrangement being released with the same title. In order to avoid confusion, Billy added “Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart” and “Count Your Blessings” and called it “Thanksgiving Praise.” However, now the choral version is out of print, and the publisher has gone back to listing it under the original title, which does make it confusing if you try to order it!