Carols for Choirs 1: Fifty Christmas Carols (Bk. 1) [Paperback]

Reginald Jacques (Author), John Rutter (Author), David Willcocks (Author)

Book Description

Series: Carols for Choirs | Publication Date: December 31, 1968

50 Christmas carols
The volumes of Carols for Choirs have established themselves as the quintessential carol books for carol-singers around the world. Each volume presents a wide rage of carols to suit every occasion, from well-known tunes superbly arranged to be the best original compositions. Carols for Choirs 1 includes carols for audience and congregation with varied harmonizations and festive descants, the full text of the traditional Nine Lessons printed in the appendix, and a detailed list of the carol orchestrations available on rental.
Orchestrations for several of the carols from this collection are available on sale or hire under the titles Three Carol Orchestrations and Five Christmas Carols.
Eight Carol Accompaniments for 5 and 8 part brass (to accompany carols from CfC1 and CfC2) are also on sale.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Rutter is an OUP composer. David Willcocks is a former Kings College Chapel Director of Music, London, and is conductor of the Bach Choir.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 31, 1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0193532220
• ISBN-13: 978-0193532229
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #653,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid starting point for Christmas choral concert music!, December 8, 2007

By 

Paul Weiss (Dundas, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carols for Choirs 1: Fifty Christmas Carols (Bk. 1) (Paperback)

Carols for Choirs 1 comprises 50 carols, mostly for mixed SATB voices, well blended from both traditional and modern sources as well as secular versus sacred. Several familiar texts such as "Away in a Manger", "Coventry Carol" and "I Saw Three Ships" appear in two different musical settings which will give choirs the ability to present a wider variety of music to informed audiences that might well be jaded with the more typical Christmas fare.

Some pieces such as Mendelssohn's "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" or "O Come All Ye Faithful" are presented with the well known upper voice descant and oft heard harmonies that are so familiar it's probable even "con belto" fortissimo audience participants might be heard singing in four parts.

In marked contrast, other pieces such as "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" or JS Bach's harmonization of "O Little One Sweet", while not requiring virtuosity, will require careful practice, study and complete attention to choral detail such as dynamics, endings and articulation in order to pull off a polished, crowd-pleasing a cappella performance.

Highly recommended for regular choral singers and conductors.

Paul Weiss

5.0 out of 5 stars great book of Xmas carols with 4 part harmony, December 31, 2009

By 

Bob F. (Milwaukee WI USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Carols for Choirs 1: Fifty Christmas Carols (Bk. 1) (Paperback)

Got this as our FacStaff choir used it for our Christmas Concert this year. Great arrangements, good 4 part harmonies and good variety. What more can you ask for. If you love Christmas and love to sing both secular and religious carols, this is the place to start for any group that you are a part of.