“Angels We Have Heard on High (Joyful, Joyful)” – CeCe Winans

“Angels We Have Heard On High (Joyful, Joyful)”
CeCe Winans
From the PureSprings Gospel album Joyful, Joyful: A Christmas Album (2024)

By Bob Marovich

CeCe Winans’ take on the classic Christmas carol “Angels We Have Heard on High” is massive, orchestral, and as dramatic as a Broadway production number.

Brass, strings, and a chorus accompany Winans as she sings the French carol straight through, then gives it a gospel bounce, only to return to the traditional style for the coda.

It’s the title track of her new-ish Christmas album, Joyful, Joyful, a re-packaging of her five-star 2018 Yuletide effort, Something’s Happening, with a few selections removed and a few added, including this single. The re-release is an opportunity to introduce the prior Christmas album and some extras to a new cadre of CeCe Winans fans in the wake of the singer’s recent spate of top awards.