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Here it is New Year's day and a Sunday. The music groups at the church are taking a break after all the Christmas music. So I volunteer to assist in providing a little music for the morning. Liturgically, it's still Christmas; but all the good Christmas solos that I know about (music director too) have been done a million times. The other Christmas-oriented stuff we could find in our music inventories was not too inspiring.

This calls for drastic action. So, a couple weeks ago, I made a weekend project of grabbing some words by Philip Doddridge
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.co ... _sound.htm
whipping out a tune, slapping an accompaniment on it, and calling it done.

I recorded the sangin' of it this morning, and if you want to download a 6 Meg file, it's here. (Note: Piano and vocal only. No brass. Sorry.)
http://t-recs.net/mpegs/FLC/01-01-2006/hark.mp3

As usual, the mics were where they could be rather than where they needed to be, which placed them a little behind me (but they were ideal for picking up the piano), so the voice pickup is crummy. And, I should have recorded myself when practicing, but I didn't; so there are some obvious vocal mistakes.

Even with the problems, I suppose it provides some tolerable listening if you're into vocal music.

Nice work Splat . . .

I, for one, enjoy listening to Christmas music throughout the season of Christmas. For me, this does NOT start during the middle of October and end at midnight on Christmas Day. It always amuses me that not a strain of Chrstmas music can be heard later. In my Polish Catholic traditional upbringing, there was no playing of Christmas music or lighting of the Christmas tree until Christmas Eve. My dad would not even allow us to turn on the outdoor holiday lights until that time. Over the years, things have loosened up a bit, but you will hear Christmas music in my house until January 6, the traditional feast of the Epiphany.

Merry Christmas to all.

It's looking like the supply of non-cheesy religious Christmas music has stabilized at whatever has been written. So if you want anything new, you have to write it yourself. It isn't something I like doing much because it's work, but I suppose it is something one should do on occasion.

I have an idea for woodwind duet and keyboard based on Schmucke dich, o liebe Seele. Now I just have to do something with it ... one of these days ... when I get around to it. When I can play brass better, I'll maybe write something for brass.

By the way, Buxtehude's chorale prelude on Eine Feste Burg for organ, transcribed for brass solo and organ would make an EXCELLENT piece of music. And it would be easy to transcribe. There is already a book of Buxtehude choral prelude transcriptions for alto recorder and keyboard. You could get the book and write out the transposition; or plug it into a notation program and let it transpose for you. We have a good trumpet player at the church. I keep thinking I need to spend a little time getting the piece transposed for him.

In Posaunenchor, we often played from the "Gölz" , a standard collection of vocal choir arrangements intended for use in church throughout the year.
Posaunenchor consists of 1st and 2nd soprano /alto as well as tenor and bass voices. Bass usually splits up, trombones playing as written and bass-tb/tuba taking it down an octave.
In contrast to community bands, trumpets will read treble clef in C, not in Bb, so organ- or choir literature is accessible.

There are TONS of arrangements available. Just google "Posaunenwerk" and see what you can find (basic knowledge of German sure helps)

Try this: http://www.posaunenwerk-westfalen.de/
and click where it says "Noten-Empfehlungen".
Click where it says "Für die Weihnachtszeit" and you´ll get more than you need.
"Begleit-Literatur zum EG" features arrangements of the hymn collection as used every service in church. These are used to accompany the parish when singing.

As this is mostly German music, I´m sure many of these will be quite fresh in American parishes.

Many of the offered collections have some 20-30 pieces and will cost less than €5.- per issue. I don´t know if they´ll ship overseas, though, or if they´ll sell to non-members of the Posaunenwerk (which is an organisation of lutheran brass choirs) at all.

Again, as mentioned above, treble clef instruments will have to play tr.-clef in C on all of these.