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The Christmas season is a great time to be a church musician because you get to play your favorite Christmas carols. In this article I'm excited to share some of my favorite arrangements from my piano by starlight series that fit the needs of every church musician for the Christmas season. If you're looking for sheet music, these selections are available to purchase!
Angels from the Realms of Glory
First up is Angels from the Realms of Glory, a meditative setting with a repeating left hand part and a gently singing melody high above. At measure 48 the second iteration of the melody opens up with a fuller range of the piano and builds to a forte dynamic. At the end of the verse it drifts quietly back to the opening texture and continues with an improvisation. Listen below:
Away In A Manger
While Away In A Manger is an incredibly popular Christmas carol, this arrangement freshens it up with some creative harmonizations. The ending has a delightful improvisatory section.
Listen below: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
This gently flowing arrangement of Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus is in 6/8 time signature which broadens the melody's rhythm into a more meditative space. The left hand part has a chromatic scalar motion but with familiar major and minor chords. After a high-floating first verse, it stays in A major for the second verse set an octave lower. The ending improvisation returns to a higher octave.
Listen below: O Come, All Ye Faithful
This is a perfect carol to use for a prelude because the welcoming message is a great way to start a church service. My arrangement begins brightly in E major in the upper register. After an interlude it modulates through G major to C major for the second verse The syncopations and improvisation keep it fresh and interesting to play. I'm sure your congregation will enjoy hearing this as a prelude!
Listen below: O Little Town of Bethlehem
There are multiple melodies associated with the text O Little Town of Bethlehem. For my arrangement, I chose to use Forest Green since it fit better with the new age style I have developed for my Piano by Starlight series. It is in a slow 12/8 time, and is one of my longer arrangements at 4 minutes and 15 seconds. The introductory chord progression undulates between F and Bb with some color tones and the melody is played sweetly on top. During the interlude, sweeping scales lead to the key of Ab for the second statement of melody. At the end it returns to the higher register, and the improvisation sparkles delightfully with fast repeated patterns.
Listen below: Rock-A-Bye, My Dear Little Boy
Rock-a-Bye, My Dear Little Boy is based on a Czech carol and is a lovely lullaby. My setting maintains the gentle spirit of the carol but changes the time signature to 12/8 for a slower, expansive musical experience.
Listen below: When Christmas Morn Is Dawning
For my final prelude recommendation, I want to mention When Christmas Morn is Dawning. It is based on a German melody and is a lesser-known carol outside of the church. It is a beautiful melody, and this short-and-sweet arrangement has an interlude that is repeated at the end, making it an easy pick for a busy pianist to learn without too much practice.
Listen below: Thank you for reading my blog post about Christmas carol arrangements. I hope you find some helpful suggestions and ideas for preludes to play for your church services, and I'm sure your congregation will enjoy these new-age arrangements. For more recommendations, check out these other articles: Piano music for Advent Piano postludes for Christmas Great preludes for piano Great postludes for piano Easy hymn arrangements for piano Intermediate hymn arrangements for piano More intermediate hymn arrangements for piano Comments are closed.
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AuthorIan Good is a published composer and arranger. |