Once again O Holy Night turned into “O holy crap here comes the high note” There will be a day when I’m not riding that battle horse at eleven o’clock at night after a full day of kids, two hours of singing carols, and the residue of a head cold.

This Christmas Eve was not that day.

What can I say? Did I shame myself? Of course not. Did the congregation like it? Well, they weren’t going boo during communion so, maybe.

Singing operatically is a physical event and O Holy Night is an ultramarathon. If the singer does not pace it with precision, it quickly becomes a matter of just surviving. Phrasing, text, and musicality go out the window and getting the "F" through it becomes the focus.

Witness international opera phenomenon Jonas Kaufmann. At the end of the second verse at the 1:45 mark his voice starts to sound shaky and we can hear him back way off the remaining notes and start conserving his resources in the third verse for the big end. He also takes that last high note without any rubato which could have been planned but it was probably because he was worn out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBJObglpL9A

Kaufmann is one of the best singers we have but his voice is big, dark and dramatic.

How about Juan Diego Flores? He is also a great singers and his voice is light, lyrical and should handle this without issues. Well, he takes the optional lower notes at the end of the first verse and only sings two verses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3yHGan41E4

All this to say that if someone sang O Holy Night for you this year, maybe give them a hug before New Years.

For the record, this doesn’t happen to Celine Dion or Josh Grobin because they’re not singing the original setting.

My favorite O Holy Night? Jussi Bjørling -O helga natt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVYCudlVMSM