John Jacob Niles: Christmas Songs and Carols: High Voice: Vocal Album

This collection includes new arrangements for voice and piano of six songs originally published in Ten Christmas Carols from the Southern Appalachian Mountains collected by John Jacob Niles as well as familiar classicscomposed by Niles. The recorded performances will help all become familiar with these new settings. All selections are appropriate for student singers as well as more experienced singers for use in Christmas services. Contents:The Carol of the Birds ? The Cherry Tree ? Down in yon forest ? The Flower of Jesse ? I wonder as I wander ? Jesus Jesus rest your head ? Jesus the Christ is born ? Lulle Lullay ? SeeJesus the Saviour ? The Seven Joys of Mary ? Sweet little boy Jesus ? What Songs Were Sung.

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.

For the fairly advanced group a Christmas lullabyA single soprano voice sings over the accompaniment of the chorus an ideal concert piece