I attended Christmas in Christ Chapel here at Gustavus for the first time Sunday evening. Immediately, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the Northern Lights display at the front of the chapel. The greens, purples, and blues illuminated the space, with a calm fog descending onto the crowd as the choirs and various instrumental groups took their places. From the moment the first song was sung, I had goosebumps.
Photo credit: Lucy Nelson
The group started with a song titled “Solitary City”, while they all stood behind the crowd, providing a feel of being surrounded by sound. As the concert progressed, each song seemed to be more beautiful than the last. One of my favorite parts was the performances by the hand bells. They were light and calm, almost adding an eerie effect over the chapel as the bells rang out and reverberated off the walls. A second favorite of mine was “Silent Night”, which was sung much differently than I had ever hear. The chapel was dark as the choirs sung and slowly started lighting candles, eventually covered in a soft light that looked like a sea of stars on stage.
The best part of Christmas in Christ Chapel was the final song, “O Come, All Ye Faithful”. You could feel the choirs and bands ease up before the song started. I swear there was not a dry eye in the place as each member put their whole heart into the piece. After weeks of practice, four previous performances, they finally completed CinCC for 2018. At the end, everyone cheered and clapped, the whole crowd knowing how much effort went into this performance. It is easy for me to say that CinCC did not disappoint.