Christmas with Kevin Costley, Book 2: Piano Book

The creative introductions here do real work: they establish character before the melody enters, giving pianists a chance to set the emotional temperature rather than simply launching into a carol. Costley's arrangement choices respect both the solemn carols and the exuberant ones, meaning you're not forcing all your repertoire into a single interpretive mold.

These arrangements capture Christmas in multiple moods: reverent and quiet in some moments, bright and celebratory in others. The varied approach keeps the listening experience dynamic while maintaining the essential character each carol already carries.

Piano students at the early intermediate to intermediate level who need repertoire that bridges home practice and formal performance contexts. This collection serves pianists preparing for holiday recitals, church services, or simply enriching their seasonal playing at home.

• Study the introduction separately from the carol itself. These intros often contain the harmonic or textural foundation that makes the arrangement distinctive, so committing them to memory first pays dividends.
• Let the dynamic contrast between solemn and joyful titles shape your program flow. Sequencing matters when you're moving between pieces with such different emotional weights.
• Pay attention to any sustain pedal markings in the intros; they often create the atmospheric quality that Costley uses to frame each carol.

Build a holiday concert around this collection as your core repertoire, adding complementary pieces in other styles or instruments as needed. You might also distribute individual arrangements throughout a winter recital series, using them as palate cleansers between more complex or demanding pieces.

• Interpreting creative introductions that set musical mood before the main melody
• Managing tempo and phrasing across pieces with contrasting emotional character
• Balancing harmonic color and accompaniment texture with melodic clarity
• Practicing score-to-sound decision-making in arrangements rather than original compositions