Both a dedicated carol singer and an authority on the history of English music Nicholas Temperley here offers a unique book of 37 carols dating from the fifteenth century to the present.For over fifty years he has sung edited and composed carols each Christmas and in Christmas is Coming the fruit of his enthusiasm is combined with his wealth of knowledge to produce an outstanding and original new collection. As John Rutter observes in his Foreword the book does not pointlessly duplicate what can be found in many other carol books but has a personality and purpose of its own.Twenty-two fresh and practical arrangements include carols from Austria France Germany Mexico Poland and the USA alongside music both rare and familiar from the rich heritage of the English carol tradition. As well as eight of his personal favourites from J. S. Bach to Charles Ives the author includes seven new compositions of his own settings of medieval and traditional texts that reveal his skill as a choral composer whose command of style ranges from the humorous to the profound.In addition to sample programmes and translations there are invaluable notes on the performance and history of individual items plus an historical summary of the genre as a whole: everything in fact to make Christmas is Coming an indispensable companion for singers who wish to enrich the seasonal repertoire for concerts churches and traditional Yuletide carolling.

This exclusive collection brings together 12 of Nico Muhly?s sacred works for mixed-voice choir. These vivacious fresh and dramatic pieces will make an impact whether in the church or in the concert hall and range from the intimate Lord keep us modest when we claim to the effervescent Bright Star Carol alongside service music such as Muhly?s Third Service. All are accessible to learn and offer choirs a new slant on contemporary choral music at its very best.  'Choral music has always been at the emotional core of my musical output. Even when I?m writing large-scale orchestral works (or indeed chamber music) I alwaysfind myself returning to techniques and textures I?ve greedily stolen from centuries of music from Tye to Howells early and recent. I try to design my own choral music primarily for use in worship where the measure of the success of the piece is if it helps guide the listeners? ears upwards and elsewhere as sacred architecture and the various rituals of the church themselves are meant to do. The specificity of music heard only in certain seasons is for me an important and thrilling element of the choral tradition: a Beethoven Symphony is welcome at any point in the year but an anthem for Candlemas works only then at a certain time of day and on a certain day of the year. With this functional spirit at the heart of the compositional process I hope that the music collected here makes equal sense in a concert setting. These works range from ordinaries of the mass to hymns to motets and represent a decade and a half of output.' - Nico Muhly

This Fantasia is founded on the following traditional English carols: The Truth Sent From Above (Herefordshire) words and tune; Come All You Worthy Gentlemen (Somerset) words and tune; On Christmas Night (Sussex) words and tune; There Is A Fountain (Herefordshire) tune only; together with fragments of other well-known carol tunes. The work is scored for ordinary full Orchestra with Organ and set of bells (ad lib.) or String Orchestra with Organ or Piano. Alternatively it may be accompanied by Organ or Piano alone played from the Vocal score with an optional solo Cello part (H212). A chorus part for performance bysolo Baritone and TTBB is also available (W41). The chorus is required to sing in four different ways:1. Singing the words.2. Singing with closed lips.3. Singing \'Ah\'.4. Singing with half-closed lips i.e. with a short \'u\' sound as in the word \'but\'. Watch Pasadena Master Chorale performing Ralph Vaughan Williams\' Fantasia On Christmas Carols:

Customize Your Programs With How-To Ideas for School and Beyond-Help!! My program is in 2 weeks and I have no idea what to do for costumes! From dinosaurs to decorating tee shirts take the worry out of planning with over 180 costume ideas from veteran music teacher Janet Edewaard. Attachwhite spots to a black sweat suit add a black painted nose and a cone-shaped straw hat with ears glued to the outside . . . a Panda Bear! Learn how you can become a Triceratops with three painted Styrofoam cones and a baseballcap! Some costumes are easy to create; others are a bit more complicated and no sewing required! Start with these ideas and adjust where necessary. For your convenience the costumes are presented in the following categories:underwater creatures period costumes costumes around the world historical figures insects fairy tale characters circus costumes birds forest animals bears nuts dinosaurs dogs decorating tee shirts and more! It'scurtain time so have a great show!

Jephtha is Handel’s last oratorio. Handel had to break off from composing several times because of his increasing blindness in 1751. The first performance at the Covent Garden Theatre in February 1752 was the last performance he conducted before he went completely blind. In Jephtha Handel succeeded in achieving the perfect fusion between a biblical plot and the spirit of classical tragedy. With great intensity and dramatic expression he highlighted in particular the fates of Jephtha and Iphis thereby portraying convincing and complex characters. The chorus How Dark O Lord are Thy Decrees at the end of parttwo is of crucial importance in the work and is regarded as the dramatic high point of the oratorio. The vocal score is based on volume I/30 of the Halle Handel Edition (BA 4014) which contains the complete critical version of the music of the oratorio for the first time. It contains a detailed foreword in German and English and a clear straightforward Piano reduction.