Joy: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir

Broadway star Michael Maliakel and beloved actress Lesley Nicol (Downton Abbey) inspire in this holiday special that weaves Christmas classics with the story of Victor Hugo to show that opening our hearts to all is the true meaning of the season. Joy: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir aired on PBS on December 17th, and is available for streaming now.

Broadway star Michael Maliakel invites us backstage with Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir, and describes how this stunning production sets a new standard for Christmas celebrations. He shares what makes it different from a traditional Broadway show, and explains how Choir Director, Mack Wilberg made his experience into a singer's dream come true!

Beloved actress Lesley Nicol takes us behind the scenes of Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir, comparing it to her past acting roles. She describes her journey narrating the true story of Victor Hugo and his wife hosting a feast for impoverished children, highlighting the incredible teamwork involved. Nicol also reflects on what resonates most deeply with her from this unforgettable experience.

Watch the spectacular opening to "Joy: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir." This processional, "Sing We Now of Christmas" is based on a traditional French carol, “Noël nouvelet,” which dates from possibly as early as the 15th century. The new arrangement by Mack Wilberg was written especially for this Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert.

Watch The Tabernacle Choir and orchestra perform “Noe! Noe!” with the Bells on Temple Square. The cheerful Franco-Provençal carol is attributed to the 17th-century author and composer Brossard de Montaney, and expounds on the joyous exchange of angels announcing the news of Christ’s birth to the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem.

Broadway star Michael Maliakel joins The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra to sing "Joy To The World." The18th-century hymn writer Isaac Watts initially penned the lyrics for “Joy to the World” as a rhyming paraphrase of Psalm 98, and his poem was first published in 1719. It became a Christmas classic when it was set to music by Lowell Mason, the “father of American hymnody,” in 1836.

American folklorist John Jacob Niles was visiting Murphy, North Carolina, in the summer of 1933 when he heard a young girl, Annie Morgan, sing a fragment of a haunting melody in the town square. Niles completed and published the song in 1934, it and quickly became a much-beloved Christmas carol worldwide. Watch Broadway star Michael Maliakel perform, accompanied by The Tabernacle Orchestra.

A young Felix Mendelssohn wrote this Christmas cantata based on Martin Luther’s “Vom Himmel hoch.” Mendelssohn’s inspiration sprang not from Luther directly, but from his own respect for J. S. Bach, who had also borrowed Luther’s hymn frequently. This performance, by The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra with the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble, culminates with the final, triumphant stanza of Luther’s hymn.

While “Patapan” is often listed as a traditional French carol, its text and music are usually credited to the 18th-century French author Bernard de la Monnoye. This orchestral fantasy by Ryan Murphy combines the musical motifs of “Patapan” with references to the well-known English carol “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.”

The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra perform “Still, Still, Still,” a 19th-century Austrian Christmas carol on the Nativity, set to a Salzburg folk tune. With new lyrics by David Warner, a longtime friend and collaborator of Mack Wilberg’s, this arrangement of “Still, Still, Still” sees beyond the smiles and sighs of the baby asleep in Mary’s arms to the wonder and promise of Christ, the Savior.

This choral meditation was originally penned by Mack Wilberg in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when peace and hope seemed unattainable to so many. David Warner’s lyrics, adapted for this Christmas setting, invite the listener to put peace first, replacing all inner trouble and doubt. Watch as The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra perform this chorus into a Nativity lullaby.

Independent of its original 1824 symphonic setting, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” has become an anthem of rejoicing, a call to replace division and confrontation with love, unity, and understanding. In this finale, performed by The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra, the melody—an intentionally simple, folksy tune—is transformed through a series of variations into a climactic tour de force.