Hail the Holidays (with Graphite & Graphite Marketplace!)

Hail the Holidays!

Contributing Editor: Jonathan Campbell

There were choral directors in the fields, keeping watch over their choirs by summer. And Lo! The autumn came upon them, and they were so afraid. “Fear not,” said Graphite Publishing, “For we have developed new Christmas/Winter/Holiday repertoire for thee. Go thee unto www.graphitepublishing.com and find new music!” 

And then the joyous sounds of Holiday Concert Planning began, with the singing of “Glory to repertoire, good will towards choristers, and peace on Earth to all!”

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Large Ensemble

Brand New! This new Christmas Classic is filled with good tunes and accessible harmonies. It lights up the concert hall with nostalgic sounds and textures, meeting expectations for a comforting and beautiful holiday concert.

A Home Is Found At Christmas
SATB Chorus and Full Orchestra
Dominick DiOrio (DD3 Publications)

Difficulty:

A home is found this Christmas In bright, enduring joy.

A Home Is Found at Christmas,” by Dominick DiOrio
Performed by Choral Arts Society of Washington Symphonic Chorus
and Choral Arts Orchestra, Marie Bucoy-Calavan, guest conductor

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“A Fire in Winter” was commissioned to be the opening piece for the 2019 televised Christmas Concert by the University of St. Thomas School of Music ensembles. Four soprano soloists surround the audience in the opening section, full of wonder and awe. But it soon transitions into joyful and buoyant music led by the instrumentalists, and closes with fantastic flourish.

A Fire in Winter
SATB divisi choir, 4 soprano soloists, wind ensemble and string orchestra
Jocelyn Hagen (JH Music)

Difficulty:

An elegant and joyful welcoming to the season of Christmas.

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This 7-movement work is a wonderful addition to the repertoire for secular seasonal music. The texts take us from the approach of Winter through the emergence of Spring. One movement is for TB, one is for SA, and one of the SATB movements is a cappella. Although conceived as a complete cycle, each movement can be sung on its own, allowing a conductor to share the work across multiple choirs in one choral program. The writing is rich, intelligent, and extremely musical. Timothy C. Takach’s “The Longest Nights” is a satisfying centerpiece for a seasonal program.

The Longest Nights
SATB, string quartet
Timothy C. Takach Publications

Difficulty:

A secular cycle that moves through the winter season. Accessible for high school singers but with enough musical depth for a more experienced group.

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Small Ensemble

This atmospheric setting of the traditional Christmas carol swirls with the falling snow. Over a sparkling accompaniment, Abbie Betinis arranges Holst’s hymn with both clarity and texture, offering opportunities for singers to develop skill in phrasing and expression. The final verse features two soloists over the choir humming, which creates an intimate, haunting beauty reflective of the text’s humility and reverence.

In the Bleak Midwinter
SATB chorus, 2 soloists, piano or harp
Also available for SSAA, 2 soloists, and piano
Abbie Betinis Music Company

Difficulty:

An atmospheric, haunting arrangement of the traditional Christmas hymn.

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A secular winter work for choir, trumpet, and piano, Paul John Rudoi’s “Now Breaks the Glowing Light” sets a scene of cold leading to warmth following David Sidwell’s beautiful poetry.

Now Breaks the Glowing Light
SATB Choir, Trumpet, and Piano
Paul John Rudoi (PJR Music)

Difficulty:

“Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago.”
– Christina Rossetti

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“Winter Ride” bursts open with melodies striving to express the pleasure of running through snow. Save a moment to revel in the brightness of the light, this briskly paced work, sung in four parts a cappella with optional divisi, sweeps listeners off their feet and carries them away with a joyful message.

Winter Ride
for SATB chorus a cappella
Mari Esabel Valverde

Difficulty:

Bursting open with melodies striving to express the pleasure of running through snow.

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A gentle and beautiful setting for mixed voices, piano, and optional guitar, this Spanish language piece enchants and delights. The message is one of a gentle Christmas lullaby for the Christ child.

Pastores
For SATB, optional cuatro, and piano
Carlos Cordero (The Happy Choir)

Difficulty:

A gentle Christmas piece about taking care of what’s most precious for us.

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With a folk-like lilt, and warm message of gratitude, “Touch Hands” is a flexible table grace or concert selection for all skill levels. While some singers may build up to a 6-part canon on text from American conservationist W.H.H. Murray (“Ah friends, dear friends, as years go on, how fast the guests will go…”), beginning singers or audience can layer in the familiar “For health and strength and daily bread” round (secularized here) to create a rich and fulfilling double canon. The text is appropriate all year, including feast days and holidays (ex. Thanksgiving, Christmas) and, with its “carpe diem”-like message on friendship, at festivals, farewell concerts, or graduations.

Touch Hands: A Table Grace
Flexible (round, partner song, or double canon)
Abbie Betinis Music Company

Difficulty:

This warm, flexible canon passes gratitude from singer to singer.

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Art Song Corner!

Martha Hill Duncan’s “A Child’s Song of Christmas” is a great fit for a Christmas performance (and easy to learn quickly!). The melodic repetition make it a great teaching tool for younger voices and the poetry beautifully marries the image of the first Christmas morning with today.

A Child’s Song of Christmas
Voice and piano
Martha Hill Duncan (Graphite Publishing)

Difficulty:

A delightful song finds parallels between the first Christmas morning and today.

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For more ideas, check out our Christmas Playlist on YouTube!

“Still, Still, Still” – Trad. Austrian Carol, arr. Aaron Humble
Performed by Cantus
Available as part of the Cantus series.

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Our Contributing Editor

Jonathan Campbell, BA, MSM, DMA, currently serves as Director of Music at Zion Lutheran Church, Anoka, MN., and is a Contributing Editor for Graphite Publishing. His music publishers include Augsburg Fortress, Concordia, Morningstar, GIA, Sacred Music Press, and Falls House. He won first prize in the Morningside Choral Composition Contest and was also awarded a Faith Partner’s Residency with the American Composer’s Forum. Jonathan has served many churches, conducted the Chorale of the Honors Choirs S.E. MN for eight years, and has served on the faculties of Winona State University, Augsburg University, and Pomona College.