Christmas carols

Traditional Christmas carols in their traditional SATB (hymn-style) arrangements, transcribed for band instruments. These materials are playable by a wide variety of instrumentation, but they are primarily designed to accompany caroling by a mixed chorus. With the support of competent musicians, even a poorly-balanced or un-confident chorus will sound great, especially compared to the usual a capella caroling performance.

Each carol includes the following parts:

"Flutes"	The choral Soprano and Alto lines, up an octave	Flute
"Bb instruments (high)"	Soprano and Alto lines	Clarinet, trumpet, soprano sax
"Eb instruments (high)"	Soprano and Alto lines	Alto sax
"Bass clef instruments"	Tenor and Bass lines	Trombone, tuba, baritone BC
"Bb instruments (low)"	Tenor and Bass lines	Baritone horn (TC), tenor sax, bass clarinet
"Eb instruments (low)"	Tenor and Bass lines	Baritone sax, alto clarinet

Since Christmas caroling is usually done standing up, the band parts are formatted for a 7.5" x 5.5" size, to fit into a standard flip folio. This size also allows two parts to be printed on a standard 8.5" x 11" page.

Several of the carols have been transposed to band-friendly keys when necessary, but are still in reasonable ranges for singers. The parts are compatible with the standard versions published in caroling booklets, in hymnals, and elsewhere on the Internet.

This collection of carols is offered for free download as a public service by Note₈ Music Typesetting and Publishing. Please note that these materials are provided as PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files, which could hang or crash improperly configured browser software.

1. Angels we have heard on high	parts	vocal
2. Away in a manger, transposed to F from the original G	parts	vocal
5. Deck the hall	parts	vocal
6. The first noel, transposed to Db from the original D	parts	vocal
9. Hark the herald angels sing, transposed to Ab from the original G	parts	vocal
11. It came upon the midnight clear	parts	vocal
12. Jolly old St. Nicholas, transposed to Ab from the original, too-high Bb	parts	vocal
13. Up on the house-top	parts	vocal
14. Joy to the world, transposed to Eb from the original D	parts	vocal
17. O come all ye faithful, transposed to Ab from the original G	parts	vocal
19. O little town of Bethlehem, transposed to F from the original G	parts	vocal
20. Silent night, transposed to Bb from the original C	parts	vocal
22. We three kings, transposed to Fm/Ab from the original Em/G	parts	vocal
23. We wish you a merry Christmas, both short and long ("figgy pudding") versions	parts	vocal
69. Rounds: The Peace Round and Dona Nobis Pacem	parts	vocal
70 Rounds: Rise up, O flame and Russian Alleluia	parts	vocal
88. Jingle bells, transposed to F from the original G	parts	vocal
89. The twelve days of Christmas	parts

Recommended performance practices

Start the band from the spot labeled "Intro" in the parts, thus giving the singers their starting pitches, tempo, and cue.

No ritard at the end of the introduction, or at the ends of verses (except the last one). Keep it moving, right in tempo.

Every song starts with verse 1. But for reasons of running time, lyric quality, performance quality, or whim, the conductor reserves the right to rearrange or skip the subsequent verses ad lib, signaling the number of the next verse with fingers.

The Conductor holds up a fist, jazz-style, to indicate the final verse, which should probably end with a poco ritard.

Encourage instrumentalists to switch parts from verse to verse if they like, thus varying the ensemble's tone color. Jumping up and down octaves, and mutes for brass can provide similar tone color variations. These sorts of things can be difficult to signal precisely, even if the conductor works out signals for them in advance; it might be better just to leave this matter to chance, at the collective whim of the players.

The conductor might send a subset of the choir and/or band off to a separate part of the performance space, and improvise some antiphonal effects. Even some improvised dynamics can have a dramatic effect.

The role of the conductor as described here is quite an active one. This role does not require exceptional conducting technique, but it does require decisiveness and clarity. A conductor filling this role should not expect to be able to contribute much by singing or playing an instrument.

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