Putting It Together
Most versions of “Hark The Herald Angels Sing” sound like they’re checking a box on a Christmas album tracklist. Take 6’s arrangement is different. Dr. Cedric Dent rebuilt it from the ground up, and every vocal part has a reason to exist. Nothing’s there just to fill space. Take 6 turned “Hark The Herald Angels Sing” into something that demands you listen instead of just playing in the background while you wrap presents.
Trey, Sed, and I had been talking about covering this for years before we actually did it in 2017. Something about Dr. Dent’s arrangement kept pulling us back. We recorded across our three studios (eTone Media, Fortraiture, OMVB), sent files back and forth, and hoped everything would line up. It did, mostly.
The song’s about the birth of Jesus Christ, angels announcing it to shepherds, the whole nativity story. Whether you’re listening on Christmas Day or in July, the message stays the same.
When Nobody Planned It
Check 1:14 and 2:22. That’s where all three of us did the same unscripted thing simultaneously. Sed spotted it in the comments. Nobody called it, nobody rehearsed it. Either we’ve been doing this long enough that we’re telepathic now, or it’s just dumb luck. Probably the second one.
Why Take 6’s Version
Take 6 has been doing this longer than most people have been alive. When Dr. Cedric Dent arranges something, you don’t question it, you just try to do it justice. That’s what we were going for here. The original hymn is from the 1700s, but this version is the one that matters if you care about vocal arrangement.
