Joe’s stirring arrangement of this classic spiritual Christmas carol was, if I remember right, his very first Christmas carol (at least that he made available on his website). He later posted a second version that was identical except for the “Tag” (Barbershop slang for the fancy ending of a Barbershop song, designed to substitute for a dramatic instrumental coda). The new version had a Tenor post (sustained note) instead of a Bass post, and also altered the rhythm of and added a bit of Bass patter at the start of the tag.

I liked the altered rhythm and patter much better than the original, but preferred what I considered the more climactic feel of the Bass post version, so I melded the two to form this version, which I call “Best of Both.”