”Santa Tell Me”: Ariana Grande wants to know if ”Santa’s really there”. This SSATB arrangement is rather easy and a great concert piece for smaller or larger vocal groups.
”Santa’s Coming For Us”: Sia wrote this energetic Christmas calypso in 2017.
”Merry Christmas, you Suckers”: Paddy Roberts’ wonderfully ironic Christmas tune from 1962.
”White Christmas”: Irving Berlin’s immortal classic in close-harmony.
”Christmas is all around”: A highlight from the movie ”Love Actually” where Bill Nighy’s character Billy Mack is ”pressing in some extra syllables” into ”Love is all around”. In my version I was pressing in some extra melodies as well. 🙂
”Both Sides Now”: Obviously, Joni Mitchell didn’t write this as a Christmas song. But in a concert it works very well as part of a ”Love Actually” group. This is a rather popular arrangement of mine that exists even in a SSAA and SSAB setting.
”God Only Knows”: Even this old Beach Boys classic appears in the movie ”Love Actually”. I also made a version without the close-harmony part. You’ll find it here.
*”Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer”: This famous British hymn turns out to be pretty wild in the end. 🙂
”Pipes of Peace”: Paul McCartney’s Christmas song from 1983. The old master holding a torch for world peace! The original music video takes us back to the trenches of WW 1 and the famous Christmas truce between the soldiers in 1914. This arrangement also comes with a lead sheet for an optional piano accompaniment.
NEW 2023 ”The Wexford Carol”: A beautiful Irish Carol from the 15th century.
*NEW 2024 ”You Must Believe In Spring”: By Michel Legrand (actually from the musical ”Les Demoiselles de Rochefort”). Famously interpreted by Bill Evans (and Tony Bennett). Here in a homophonic SATB setting.
*NEW 2024 ”A Child Is Born”: By Thad Jones. Again a fine jazz standard in a homophonic setting.
NEW 2024 ”You Must Believe In Spring/ A Child Is Born”: I think these two pieces work very well together, both musically and thematically.
…and finally some Swedish Christmas music:
”Trettondagsfesten”: The Swedish group ”Triakel” has recorded Sam J. Lundwall’s hilarious folk song parody ”Födelsedagsfesten” in 1998. I just changed a couple of words so it became ”Trettondagsfesten” instead. 🙂
”Torspar-julaftas-våggvisa”: Another atmospheric song from Triakel’s album with Christmas music. This is a composition by Alan Kristensson.
”Merry Christmas, you Suckers”: Paddy Roberts’ wonderfully ironic Christmas tune from 1962 with a couple of Swedish comments from the sideline.
*”Gud, ditt folk är vandringsfolket”: This is a Swedish version of ”Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer”. We hear the English original in the beginning and the Swedish text in the up tempo groovy part.
*NEW 2024 ”Bergslagsjul”: Again a song from ”Triakel’s” Christmas album. It’s about a small mining community in the heart of Sweden.
*NEW 2024 ”För redeliga män”: A traditional Swedish Christmas melody called ”Staffansvisa”.