For Woodwind Quintet
🎄🎄🎄Elevate your performance with this delightful intermediate arrangement for woodwind quintet of Morten Lauridsen's gorgeous setting of the choral-music bestseller "O Magnum Mysterium"--instantly downloadable for your next performance. This arrangement is perfect for any holiday celebration, holiday or year-round recital, church service, caroling gig, or wedding. This lovely setting, based on a 15th-century Gregorian chant text depicting Christ’s birth, was written for most ensembles, from advanced high school quintets to college groups to amateur ensembles and professional quintets. This arrangement calls for Clarinet in A, but I have included an alternate Bb part, just in case. As always, I have included an alternate bass clarinet part in lieu of a missing bassoon.
🎄American composer Morten Lauridsen, Chair of the Composition Department at the University of Southern California, wrote “O Magnum Mysterium” in 1994 for the Los Angeles Master Chorale; since then it has become a huge success with choirs around the world. The lush harmonies with tension created through the use of dissonances, and the melody that is echoed, inverted, and layered throughout the voices give this piece an almost luminous quality. Although originally written for an SATB a cappella choir, this setting works perfectly for winds, capturing the essence of the work and conveying its meaning through rubato and dynamic contrast. Delight your audiences with this unique setting for winds of an American choral-music classic.
You-Tube score-following video of Morten Lauridsen’s “O Magnum Mysterium” arranged for woodwind quintet by Mark A. Craig/Craig Music Publishers
🎄After watching this video, head over to Sheet Music Direct or Sheet Music Plus to add this exceptional arrangement to your digital music collection.
🎄Updated 13 October 2026
