This accessible and appropriate Christmas collection of duets for Soprano and Alto Saxophone with Piano accompaniment. All songs are either arranged or composed by Stephen DeCesare. The accompaniment Contents are: "Over The River And Through The Woods", "Wexford Carol", "Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle", "Silent Night", "In The Bleak Midwinter with Silent Night" and "What Child Is This".

Your Favorite Christmas Hymns and Carols for Wind Instruments
Arranged by Colin Kirkpatrick
Book 1

This essential collection may be all you ever need for your wind instruments at Christmas. It's a bargain price too! The arrangements are intended either as stand-alone pieces that could be used as interludes in a service, or they could be used to accompany solo, choral or congregational singing.

The publication consists of a four-staff score in concert pitch together with fourteen separate parts in various transpositions. There is also a fairly easy optional keyboard part. These four-part arrangements use flexible instrumentation so that you can exercise considerable control over the instrumental voicing. You can also create interesting instrumental tone colour by omitting groups of instruments. This can be achieved with the aid of a pencil. If the ensemble is large enough you could omit brass instruments in the quieter sections, or use a solo trumpet against a woodwind background. There are endless possibilities. You can hear the effect of omitting sections in the audio samples. The arrangements could therefore be played by brass quartet, woodwind quartet, saxophone quartet or virtually any combination of wind instruments. Using the piano part (which has been kept as simple as possible) the arrangements could also be used as solos or duets, depending of what instruments are available. Parts 1 and 2 in C have been printed an octave higher than the pitch shown in the score because the parts invariably are too low for flute or oboe. All the scores and parts are contained in a single125-page PDF file.

The publication consists of four-stave scores for each hymn and carol plus:

1. Part 1 in B flat (clarinet, trumpet, cornet, soprano sax);

2. Part 1 in C (8ve higher for piccolo, flute, oboe);

3. Part 1 in E flat (alto saxophone, E flat clarinet);

4. Part 2 in B flat (clarinet, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn);

5. Part 2 in C (8ve higher for flute, oboe);

6. Part 2 in E flat (alto saxophone);

7. Part 3 in B flat (tenor saxophone, B flat baritone);

8. Part 3 in C (bass clef for trombone, bassoon);

9. Part 3 in E flat (E flat tenor horn, alto saxophone, alto clarinet);

10. Part 3 in F (French horn in F);

11. Part 3a in B flat (8ve below score pitch for 3rd clarinet);

12. Part 4 in B flat (B flat bass clarinet, B flat bass);

13. Part 4 in C (bass clef for trombone, bass trombone, bassoon, tuba);

14. Part 4 in E flat (E flat baritone saxophone, E flat bass)

Book 1 includes the following 19 titles: Angels from the Realms of Glory (Melody: Gloria); Away in a Manger (Melody: Mueller); Unto Us a Child Is Born (Melody: Puer Nobis); Christians Awake! (Melody: Yorkshire); Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly (Melody: Nos Galan); Go Tell it on the Mountain; Good Christian Men, Rejoice (Melody: In Dulci Jubilo); Good King Wenceslas (Melody: Tempus Adest Floridum); I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In; It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (Melody: Carol); Little Jesus, Sweetly Sleep (Melody: Rocking); O Christmas Tree (Melody: Tannenbaum); O Come all ye Faithful (Melody: Adeste Fidelis); O Little Town of Bethlehem (Melody: Saint Louis); O Holy Night (Melody: Cantique Noël); Silent Night (Melody: Stille Nacht); The Holly and the Ivy; We Wish You a Merry Christmas and What Child is This? (Melody: Greensleeves)

The audio samples include Angels from the Realms of Glory, Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly, Go Tell it on the Mountain and Silent Night. Please note that arrangements in the publication are not intended to be compatible with Your Favorite Christmas Hymns and Carols for Brass.