The First Noel

The First Noel – Mack Wilberg SATB Choir Sheet Music

A moving and dramatic setting of the beloved Christmas carol, arranged by Mack Wilberg for SATB choir and keyboard or orchestra.

The First Noel—published by Oxford University Press under the traditional spelling The First Nowell—receives a magnificent treatment in this SATB arrangement by Mack Wilberg, Music Director of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

Wilberg surrounds the familiar English carol with a beautiful harmonic language that transforms the traditional melody into a powerful Christmas choral anthem. Moving from moments of tenderness to a broad and triumphant conclusion, the arrangement is an outstanding choice for Christmas worship, Advent services, Christmas concerts and holiday choir programs.

Scored for SATB mixed choir with keyboard or orchestra, the work runs approximately 4½ minutes and may be performed with keyboard accompaniment alone or expanded with Wilberg's orchestration for a major Christmas performance.

Watch The First Noel – Mack Wilberg

Hear Mack Wilberg's arrangement performed by The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square:

The First Noel or The First Nowell?

If you're searching for Mack Wilberg's arrangement of The First Noel and find a score titled The First Nowell, you've found the right piece.

Oxford University Press publishes Mack Wilberg's arrangement using the title The First Nowell, while the familiar modern spelling The First Noel is widely used for the same traditional English Christmas carol.

The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square also identifies its performance of Wilberg's arrangement as The First Noel.

The First Noel = The First Nowell. This listing is for Mack Wilberg's SATB arrangement published by Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780193864214.

About Mack Wilberg's The First Noel

Few Christmas melodies are as immediately recognizable as The First Noel, but Mack Wilberg gives the traditional carol a distinctive musical identity of its own.

Oxford describes the setting as moving and dramatic, highlighting Wilberg's beautiful harmonic language and the way it complements the classic carol.

Rather than simply harmonizing the familiar tune, Wilberg uses changing textures, harmonic color and an increasingly expansive accompaniment to create a genuine musical journey.

The result feels unmistakably like The First Noel while offering the breadth, warmth and grandeur associated with Wilberg's choral writing.

The First Noel SATB Choir Arrangement

This edition is scored for SATB mixed choir, making it an excellent Christmas selection for church choirs, community choruses, collegiate ensembles and larger concert choirs.

Its approximately 4½-minute duration makes it substantial enough to serve as a featured Christmas anthem without consuming a large portion of a worship service or concert program.

Choirs familiar with Mack Wilberg's music will recognize his ability to take a traditional hymn or carol and build it into something much larger while allowing the original melody to remain at the center of the arrangement.

Keyboard or Full Orchestra

The First Noel may be performed with keyboard accompaniment, making the work practical for churches and choirs without access to an orchestra.

For larger Christmas concerts and special performances, orchestral materials are also available.

The orchestration calls for:

• 2 Flutes
• 2 Oboes
• 2 Clarinets
• 2 Bassoons
• 4 Horns
• Harp
• Organ
• Strings
• Optional Timpani
• Optional Bass Drum

This gives directors tremendous flexibility: perform the anthem with keyboard in a traditional church setting or expand it with orchestra for a large Christmas concert.

The First Noel – A Classic English Christmas Carol

The First Noel, also spelled The First Nowell, is a traditional English Christmas carol telling the story of the angels announcing the birth of Jesus Christ to the shepherds.

Its familiar refrain—proclaiming the birth of the King of Israel—has made the carol a favorite of Christian Christmas worship for generations.

That combination of familiar melody, Nativity text and Mack Wilberg's dramatic musical treatment makes this arrangement especially effective for sacred Christmas programming.

Performed by The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square

Mack Wilberg's arrangement has become closely associated with The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square.

The Choir's performance demonstrates the full dramatic potential of the arrangement—from its more restrained passages to the broad, powerful choral and orchestral sound that develops as the work unfolds.

Watch the embedded performance above to hear the arrangement before selecting it for your choir.

A Powerful Christmas Choir Anthem

The First Noel works especially well when a director wants a familiar Christmas carol that can become more than a congregational-style hymn setting.

The audience immediately recognizes the melody, but Wilberg's harmonies and dramatic treatment allow the choir to present it as a substantial concert or worship anthem.

Consider it for:

• Christmas worship services
• Christmas Eve services
• Advent concerts
• Sacred Christmas concerts
• Community Christmas programs
• University and collegiate Christmas concerts
• Church choir programs
• Choir and orchestra performances
• Festival Christmas concerts

Great Christmas Repertoire for Church Choirs

Church choir directors often face a familiar challenge at Christmas: audiences and congregations want to hear the carols they love, while singers want music that offers something musically rewarding.

Mack Wilberg's The First Noel does both.

The traditional melody keeps the piece immediately recognizable, while the SATB writing and rich harmonic language give the choir something much more substantial than a straightforward carol harmonization.

The First Noel for Choir and Orchestra

For ensembles with orchestral resources, Wilberg's scoring can turn The First Noel into a major Christmas concert selection.

Woodwinds, four horns, harp, organ and strings create a warm orchestral foundation, while optional timpani and bass drum can add additional impact.

The scoring avoids the large trumpet-and-trombone complement required by some major choral-orchestral works, which may also make the instrumentation practical for ensembles working with a smaller Christmas orchestra.

An Accessible Mack Wilberg Christmas Arrangement

The publisher identifies The First Nowell as an easy choral work.

That makes this arrangement particularly attractive to choirs that want the musical richness associated with Mack Wilberg without choosing one of his most demanding choral settings.

As with any expressive choral work, directors will still want to give attention to blend, balance, phrasing, breath support and the shaping of Wilberg's longer musical lines.

The First Noel – Product Details

Common Title	The First Noel
Published Title	The First Nowell
Arranger	Mack Wilberg
Source	Traditional English Christmas Carol
Voicing	SATB Mixed Choir
Accompaniment	Keyboard or Orchestra
Genre	Sacred Choral / Christmas Carol
Difficulty	Easy
Duration	Approximately 4½ Minutes
Format	Choral Octavo
Publisher	Oxford University Press
ISBN	9780193864214
Book Size	9" × 12"

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The First Noel the same as The First Nowell?

Yes. The First Noel and The First Nowell are alternate spellings of the title of the traditional English Christmas carol. Oxford University Press publishes Mack Wilberg's arrangement as The First Nowell, while The First Noel is the more familiar modern spelling and is also used by The Tabernacle Choir for its performance of Wilberg's arrangement.

Who arranged The First Noel for The Tabernacle Choir?

This SATB arrangement is by Mack Wilberg, Music Director of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

What voicing is Mack Wilberg's The First Noel?

The Oxford edition is scored for SATB mixed choir.

What accompaniment is used?

The First Noel may be performed with keyboard or orchestra.

Can The First Noel be performed with orchestra?

Yes. Orchestral materials are available separately. The orchestration uses woodwinds, four horns, harp, organ and strings, with optional timpani and bass drum.

How long is The First Noel by Mack Wilberg?

The published duration is approximately 4½ minutes.

How difficult is Mack Wilberg's The First Noel?

Oxford identifies the arrangement as easy, making it one of the more accessible opportunities for choirs to perform a Mack Wilberg Christmas setting.

Is The First Noel appropriate for a church choir?

Yes. The traditional Nativity text makes it particularly appropriate for Christian Christmas worship, Advent programs and Christmas Eve services.

Is this the arrangement performed by The Tabernacle Choir?

Yes. The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square have performed Mack Wilberg's arrangement of The First Noel. You can watch their performance above.

Can I listen to The First Noel before ordering?

Yes. Watch the embedded Tabernacle Choir performance above to hear Mack Wilberg's SATB and orchestral setting.

What ISBN should I look for?

The Oxford University Press choral edition is ISBN 9780193864214.

Order The First Noel by Mack Wilberg

One of Christmas's most beloved carols meets the unmistakable choral writing of Mack Wilberg.

The First Noel—published as The First Nowell—takes a melody singers and audiences already know and surrounds it with rich harmony, dramatic development and the warmth of SATB choir with keyboard or orchestra.

Use it for Christmas worship. Feature it in a holiday concert. Add the orchestra for a major Christmas performance.

However you program it, Wilberg's setting gives this timeless carol a sense of grandeur worthy of its message.

Order The First Noel arranged by Mack Wilberg for your choir from Teton Music.