Bob Gibeling was a young boy when he answered the door of his family’s Atlanta home and a neighborhood girl and her friends broke into Christmas carols. “I thought that was the coolest thing in the world,” says Gibeling, a marketing consultant. He still does. For 25 years now, the “Gibeling Singers” have caroled in four-part harmony through Atlanta’s Garden Hills neighborhood. While the visits are always a hit with the neighbors, it is Gibeling who gets the biggest bang from the tradition. “I get the joy of seeing people really being moved by the music,” he says. “That is Christmas for me.”
Q: What is it about caroling that moved you as a kid?
A: The music is so endearing — it puts everybody in the most benevolent, happiest mood. More music is written about Christmas than any other time of year. Most carols are very familiar and bring back memories for a lot of people. Like the song goes, "It is the most wonderful time of the year."
Q: Why is caroling largely a lost art?
A: It takes a lot of work to make it happen. If you want to do it the way I do it, with a nice balance of vocal parts, you need really good singers. And since doing this, I have discovered that frequently people don't know their neighbors very well.
Q: Do your carolers change from year to year?
A: Some but a substantial number come back every year. I recruit people from choirs I know, mostly from the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and St. Luke Lutheran Church. I am really intentional about inviting people of all four voice parts so we have a good balance. We have branched out a little with our concerts. We have done a Thanksgiving concert and sung patriotic songs at a few senior communities. On Dec. 23, we are singing at Canterbury Court senior community in Buckhead.
Q: When do you all practice?
A: I invite everybody over for dinner. We rehearse from music books I put together and then we go caroling. As we go from house to house, people offer eggnog or wine or hot chocolate and cookies. That is a wonderful tradition that has developed.
Q: Do you go to the same houses or do you mix it up?
A: We go to a lot of the same houses but we mix it up as new people move into the neighborhood. We ask several neighbors to congregate at one house so we can sing longer at the same place. It also promotes neighbors getting to know one another.
Q: Do you always sing same songs?
A: We started out just singing religious songs but we have added "Jingle Bells" and other secular ones over the years because people like those. We always end with, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
Q: Do you have a favorite Christmas carol?
A: "Angels We Have Heard on High" because of the beautiful "Gloria" chorus.
Q: Do you ever run into a “bah humbug” house?
A: No because I do my homework. I go around in advance telling people that we are coming. We have never gone any place that didn't want us there.
Q: Do you think some child will hear your group caroling and keep your tradition going?
A: I sure hope so. This year, I am going to have quite a few young people singing with us. Maybe one of them will be inspired to keep the tradition going. Or maybe some of the children we sing for will be inspired. That would be a real dream come true.
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