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 No�l); 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.

These arrangements of favorite Christmas carols are sure to brighten up your next Christmas event. They include full four-part instrumental scores plus parts for 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola and cello/double bass. Most of the carols can be played in first position, but for a brighter sound, ask your more experienced violinists to play an octave higher. The double bass is optional because it uses the cello part. The arrangements can be used with string quartet, string quintet or string ensemble. There?s also an optional but useful simplified keyboard part intended for less experienced keyboard players. It could be used as the basis of an accompaniment which means that you can use the arrangements as solos, duets or trios.


Please note that because the arrangements are in string-friendly keys, they?re not compatible with the brass and wind collections of the same name. The scores and all the parts are contained in a single 79-page PDF file. This collection includes the following favorite carols: Angels We Have Heard On High (Gloria); Lo, How a Rose E?er Blooming (Es ist ein Ros entsprungen); O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Veni Emmanuel); The First Noel; Ding Dong! Merrily on High (Bransle de l?Officiel); O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fidelis); Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Mendelssohn); Go Tell It on the Mountain; O Little Town of Bethlehem (St. Louis); O Holy Night (Cantique de No�l); Silent Night (Stille Nacht); Away in a Manger (Mueller); Joy to the World (Antioch); O Christmas Tree (Tannenbaum); We Three Kings (Kings of Orient); I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (Waltham); What Child is This? (Greensleeves); God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen; Good King Wenceslas (Tempus Adest Floridum) and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.