Creativity, Worship Songs

Rev Gav

The Greatest Gift

Piano Backing Track

Full Backing (with piano melody)

Full Backing (no piano melody)

PDF

Slideshow

About the Song

The Greatest Gift melody was written by Rev Gav on 18th December 2024 after it came to him in a dream the previous night, and he wrote the lyrics between Boxing Day and the 28th December. The backing music was arranged and recorded on the 29th and 30th December, adding the chimes during the first week of January, 2025. He recorded the vocals on the afternoon of 5th January and that evening, on a cold and windy night, at St. Mark’s parish church in Bermuda, we made the video!

At 6pm, volunteers gathered in the church building and we spent an hour allocating roles, working out who would do what, and rehearsing the choreography. We then filmed the whole thing in under an hour! Not quite a flash mob but pretty close! We hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it.

Lyrics

Christmas lights are twinkling on a night that’s full of hope
Children sleeping soundly in their beds
An empty glass, a plate of crumbs, where did that carrot go?
Someone’s hungry reindeer fed!
Stockings stuffed with promise, embers glowing in the hearth
Cards adorn the shelf above
Verses filled with kindness and best wishes that remind us
That the greatest gift of all is love

Christmas day is dawning, what surprise is in the box?
Ribbon wrapped it hides beneath the tree
Will it be a toy, a game, a festive pair of socks?
Rip the paper off and see!
Scrummy lunch is cooking, rich aromas fill the air
Oven opened with a glove
For every tasty plateful, we remember to be grateful
But the greatest gift of all is love

Christmas candles flicker on the night of Christmas Day
Churches filled with wonder and with joy
Children tell the story with a manger and a play
Our Saviour is a baby boy
Singing cozy carols so we celebrate his birth
Joined by angels from above
The people with one voice sing, with the world rejoicing
That the greatest gift of all is love
Yes, the greatest gift of all is love
Yes, the greatest gift of all is love

Music Credits

The Greatest Gift
(c) 2024 Revd Gavin Tyte. All Rights Reserved.

Written and Sung by Revd Gavin Tyte
Recorded and Produced by Revd Gavin Tyte

Additional Vocals: Jean Flath, Mark Neale, Annarita Marion, Carol Correia, Stephen West, Annie Pearl De Guzman, Lisa-Dawn Johnston, Elizabeth Hanson, Angela Sainsbury, Audrey Smith, Gisela Besenbruch

Filmed in St. Mark’s Church, Smith’s Parish, Bermuda
Produced, and directed by Revd Gavin Tyte

Video Cast

Priest – Rev Gav
Excited Children – Ava and Dominic Pitt
Santa Claus – Stephen West
Santa’s Helpers – Audrey Smith and Jean Flath
Postmistress – Gisela Besenbruch
Dinner Lady – Carys Caisey
Mary – Stephanie Ellison
Joseph – Eli Stovell
Principal Angels – Mark Neale and Annarita Marion
Angel 3 – William Ellison
Shepherds – Erin and Winston Stovell
Carol Singer – Penny Neale

Video Music Group

Wood Block – Valerie Moffat
Cow Bell – Simone Sainsbury
Sleigh Bell – Kaia Sainsbury
Piano – Angela Sainsbury
Chime Bell Ringers – Elizabeth Hanson, Carol Correia, Helen Tyte, Lisa-Dawn Johnston, Annie Pearl De Guzman
Violin – Keisha Brooks
First Cello – April Roach Maule
Second Cello – Camryn Maule
Trombone – Andrew Jonathan ‘A.J.’ Maule

Video Production Crew

Set Design – Rev Gav, Carol Correia, Helen Tyte
Props – Helen Tyte, Carol Correia
Filming – Keir Tweedale (iPhone 15)
Additional Filming – Helen Tyte (iPhone 13)
Sound Operators – Kamari Brooks and Rayven Weeks
Backstage Crew – Barbara Willis
Music Production – Rev Gav
Video Editing – Rev Gav

Video Third Party Media

Exploding Heart video used under license by Olena ‘olenchic’ from Pixabay.
Cloud video used under license by Yama ‘Animateon’ from Pixabay
Cloud video used under license by Nicky ‘NickyPe’ from Pixabay
Solid heart by Evan Bond from Noun Project
Bow by Uswa KDT from Noun Project
Hot Surface by Ainul Muttaqin from Noun Project
Musical Note by Olga from Noun Project
Note by Olga from Noun Project
Heart by Andrew Sloan from Noun Project