Christmas music (sacred and secular)

Other sacred music

Folk song settings

Other secular music

Ave Maria.....TC-270.....$1.20
Fauré, Gabriel (1845-1924)        Preview

From the master of memorable melodies, a short unison setting easy enough for children, sophisticated enough for adults. This piece has been recorded by the trebles of King’s College Choir, Cambridge, and will linger in your singers’ minds and hearts.
Unison, piano. Latin. Easy.

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The modal melody and ABBA rhyme scheme of the text (both original) make this new carol fresh and a little different. The harp part may be played on piano or harpsichord.
SSA & Harp; English. Medium.

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Christus natus hodie.....TC-154.....$1.70
Walter, Lana

Bouncy 6/8 to 3/4 metric changes, unified by an ascending figure in the short keyboard interludes, make this joyful Christmas piece a fine concert opener. Suitable for church use as well, the text is a metric version of the Christmas antiphon, "Hodie Christus natus est" ("Christ is born today").

• SSA and piano; Latin
• 8 pages
• duration: 2 min.
• range: g to f"
• difficulty: easy-medium

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Congratulamini mihi, omnes (Rejoice with me).....TC-110.....$1.70
Handl, Jakob

"Rejoice with me, all ye who love the Lord" is the beginning of the text, expressing Mary's joy in a first-person responsory text incorporating parts of the Magnificat. This sturdy polyphonic setting concludes with an exultant homophonic section in triple meter.
SSAA a cappella; Latin. Medium.

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Dormi, Jesu! (Sleep, sweet babe!).....TC-169.....$1.20
Green, Jonathan D.

This gentle, homophonic setting, with its low tessitura and repeated rhythmic pattern, would definitely comfort the baby. This piece is perfect for setting a quiet mood for a Christmas service or concert.

• SSAA a cappella; Latin
• duration: 2’10”
• range: b flat-e flat”
• difficulty: medium

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Elizabeth's "Ave".....TC-141.....$1.70
Walter, Lana

The "Ave Maria" text has interpolations (tropes) from a 12th century manuscript. The "benedictus fructus" words (from Elizabeth's greeting to Mary at the Visitation) and the lively rhythms express Elizabeth's joy in greeting her pregnant cousin, as the infant John the Baptist leaps in her womb.
SSA and keyboard; Latin. Medium.

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Four Old English Carols.....TC-183.....$2.85
Holst, Gustav (1874-1934)

These carols are of modest scale but great effect, written with sensitivity and economy so as not to overwhelm the original texts. The variety of voicings and accompaniments provides fine contrasts within the set.  

1. A Babe is Born
   • SSA, soprano solo with piano; English
   • duration: 2’00”
   • range: b-flat - f”
   • difficulty: easy
2. Now Let Us Sing
   • SSA, soprano solo with piano; English
   • duration: 2’30”
   • range: b-flat -f”
   • difficulty: easy
3. Jesu, Thou the Virgin-born
   • SSAA, soprano and alto solos, a cappella; English
   • duration: 2’35”
   • range: a flat - e flat”
   • difficulty: easy
4. The Saviour of the World is Born
   • unison with piano; English
   • duration: 1’45”
   • range: a flat - e flat”
   • diffculty: easy

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Gaudete! Gaudete!…..TC-176…..$1.70
Walter, Lana arr.

Renaissance dance rhythms inform this joyous setting of a sixteenth-century melody. The clear choral writing is set off by a jaunty keyboard interlude. Homophonic refrains make this piece a natural for a massed choir performance, with sub-groups singing the verses.

• SSA with piano
• duration: 1’55”
• range: d’-a”
• difficulty: easy

Hodie (on a text by Hildegard of Bingen).....TC-127.....$2.25
Stephan, Naomi

Strong rhythms, a wide range, unusual voicing, and the use of open fifths and medieval cantus firmus and tone painting techniques give this piece its unique excitement. A major contribution to the literature for women's voices.
SSSAA and two soprano solos a cappella. Medium/Difficult.

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In the Bleak Midwinter…..TC-172…..$2.25
McCollin, Frances (1892-1960)

Composed in 1934, this original, through-composed setting includes all five stanzas of the Rossetti text--even the “breastful of milk” stanza often purged from hymnals. The minor tonality, elegant and spare choral writing, and lush piano accompaniment make this a piece your choir will cherish and remember.

• SSAA with piano
• duration: 4’45”
• range: g-g”
• difficulty: easy-medium

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I Sing of a Maiden.....TC-164.....$1.20
Bennett, Jennifer

"He came al so still," repeats the 15th century English text, and this gentle setting, largely in unison, evokes the awed quiet of Christmas night. A deceptively simple minor melody, with eighth-note syncopations, floats over triplets in the spare texture of the accompaniment. Winner of honorable mention in the 1998 Amadeus Choir Christmas Carol and Chanukah Song Writing Competition, Toronto, Ontario.

• SA and piano or organ
• 4 pages
• duration: 2:15 min.
• range: d' to d"
• difficulty: easy-medium

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Joys Seven.....TC-146.....$2.25
Laster, James, arr.

"The first great joy that Mary had," begins this counting carol on a traditional English tune. The varied verse settings in this charming arrangement are unified by a short, repeated keyboard interlude. This setting is just right for a service of lessons and carols.
SSA and keyboard. Easy.

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Magnificat.....TC-287.....$3.50

Donkin, Christine     Preview

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Magnificat.....TC-161.....$2.25
Shaffer, Jeanne E.

This setting of the Canticle of Mary is suitable for both church and concert use. A refrain in 5/4 time on the antiphon "for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant" unifies the structure and lends the piece much of its rhythmic vitality and interest. The harmonies—largely diatonic but with some chromatic clashes—are mature, but do not overwhelm the text.
Liturgical use: Evensong; Advent; Annunciation; Feast of the Visitation (May 31).

• SSA (some divisi)and organ; English
• 11 pages
• duration: 4 min.
• range: e to a"
• difficulty: medium

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Magnificat.....TC-190.....$7.95
Walter, Lana        Preview

This multi-movement setting of the Song of Mary is a major contribution to the concert literature for women’s chorus. Commissioned by the Santa Fe Women’s Ensemble in 2000, its exceptionally intelligent text setting and pure beauty of sound make this a work you will want to add to your repertoire. Two of the movements, "Et misericordia" and "Esurientes," stand alone well as short anthems. Duration: 14 minutes. Latin, with full translation.
SSA with some divisi. Medium.

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Your second altos will love this setting--they get the melody in the refrain, and lots of low f's during the verses. The strong rhythms of this setting will energize your chorus!
SSAA and soprano solo a cappella. Easy/Medium.

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This arrangement is a medley of three spirituals: "Come down, angels," "Listen to the angels," and "My way's cloudy," all from The Story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, one of the earliest printed collections of slave spirituals. In all three, angels are the heavenly messengers who inspire and lead the singers out of bondage into the promised land.
In this arrangement, the angels are not dimpled cherubs, but rather towering figures who energize the singers in their difficult and dangerous journey. Swing rhythm sections alternate with softer sections in straight rhythm, in this fine concert closer with barn-burning piano accompaniment.
The spirituals' Exodus imagery makes this medley suitable for Passover programming, as well as for concerts which honor slave spirituals.

• SSAA and piano
• 14 pages
• duration: 5:00 min.
• range: e to g#''
• difficulty: medium

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This texture of this setting evokes the longing to go "over Jordan, over home" with its effective use of octaves, and of chords blossoming out from unisons to wide voicings and back again.
SSAA and soprano solo a cappella. English. Easy/Medium.

Shaker Suite (Three Shaker Spirituals).....TC-162.....$2.85
Gilbert, Nina arr.

1. Oh, the Beautiful Treasure
2. We Will Walk with Mother and Mourn
3. Hop Up and Jump Up

Explore the American heritage of Shaker hymnody with these three settings of lesser-known, very appealing Shaker spirituals.
Each brief setting grows from its underlying melody to make an exceptionally unified arrangement. With a different technique as the focus for each arrangement, these minute-long pieces make fine vocalises for your choir. "Oh the beautiful treasure," with its square rhythms, horn calls, and harmonic texture opening out and closing, is excellent for teaching chord tuning. "We will walk with Mother and mourn," with its smooth, stepwise, rising and falling melody, is a fine exercise for legato singing. "Hop up and jump up," with its crisp rhythms and phrase fragments tossed from part to part, calls for rhythmic clarity and clean entrances and cutoffs.

• SSAA a cappella
• 13 pages, plus editorial notes
• duration: 3:15 min.
• range: g to f"
• difficulty: easy-medium

From the Nina Gilbert Choral Series

Walkin' 'Round Heaven.....TC-197.....$2.25
Laster, James     Preview

This original spiritual has an easygoing style, with dotted rhythms, chromatic interest, finger snaps, and an independent piano part.
SSA andpiano. Medium.

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Christmas music (sacred and secular)

Spirituals and folk hymns

Other sacred music

Folk song settings

Other secular music

 

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Alleluia....TC-267....$1.70
by Joseph Gregorio   Preview

"Alleluia" is the entire text of this new work for women's choir. Moving mostly in gentle quarter- and half-notes, this finely-wrought setting begins and ends gently, with a crescendo to double forte in the middle section. Your church choir can sing this anthem-length setting any time except Advent and Lent; and your concert choir will find it a lovely middle-of-program piece which teaches careful tuning and seamless blend. SSAA a cappella. Easy-Medium.

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Alleluia. Ascendit Deus.....TC-210.....$2.25
Bencini, Pietro Paolo (c. 1670-1755)     Preview

This bouyant baroque setting of a Psalm text imitates the sound of the trumpet with melismas in both choral parts. (If your two-part treble choir enjoyed Purcell’s “Sound the Trumpet,” they will revel in this.) The basso continuo part has been realized, and may be doubled by cello or bassoon.
SA & Organ; Latin. Easy-Medium.