All Holiday Titles • Sacred Holiday • All SATB Holiday • All SSAA Holiday
Secular Holiday Selections
Favorites of the season, in a variety of voicings and instrumentations, sure to delight your audience
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, arr. Ryan James Brandau
A beautiful, sparkling, jazz-inflected arrangement of a much-loved holiday song, for SATB (with divisi) a cappella, with short alto and tenor solos.
Auld Lang Syne, arr. Ryan James Brandau
A warm and especially moving arrangement of the Scots ballad for New Year’s Eve, which combines the beautiful but lesser known tune with the well known first tune. Perfect as a penultimate piece or encore.
Wassail, arr. Ryan James Brandau
A an irresistibly jolly setting of the Gloucester Wassail, with a vigorous (but playable!) fiddle-inspired accompaniment that builds throughout the arrangement and finally bursts into a spirited jig. Loads of fun for orchestra, chorus, and audience alike, this one is sure to have everyone’s toes tapping! Works well as a run-up to Auld Lang Syne.
Deck the Hall, arr. Ryan James Brandau
A festive, jubilant setting that teases the ear with quotes of Joy to the World and Jingle Bells. Works well as an opener, and can run, attacca, into I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
Jingle Bells, arr. Ryan James Brandau
A bright and ebullient setting of an indispensable holiday classic. Can be performed as an orchestral work, or with SATB, or as a singalong.
O Christmas Tree, for SATB (w div), arr. Ryan James Brandau
A sparkling, vocal jazz-style setting of the traditional German song, for mixed voices, in English, with (optional) German verse.
Greensleeves, for orchestra, arr. Ryan James Brandau
A beautifully orchestrated, sumptuous arrangement of the traditional English melody. Lovely passages for low strings, double reeds, and more. Works beautifully before Gesu Bambino.
I Wonder as I Wander, for ensemble or orchestra, arr. Ryan James Brandau
A captivating, atmospheric arrangement of John Jacob Niles’s enigmatic Appalachian melody, with beautiful instrumental solos.
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, arr. Ryan James Brandau
A majestic, Romantic setting of Longfellow’s “Christmas Day,” for SATB, baritone solo, and orchestra. Interludes between verses feature poignant solos in the orchestra, and the final verse builds to a Mahler-inspired climax. A magnificent vehicle for an operatic or musical theater baritone.