I'd Rather Have My Baby Here For Christmas: SSA Choral Octavo
I'd Rather Have My Baby Here For Christmas Sheet Music Preview

I'd Rather Have My Baby Here For Christmas: SSA Choral Octavo

Arranged by Patti Drennan

Item: 35-DS00262986
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$2.65
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Additional Details
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Page Count: 7
SKU: 35-DS00262986

More about this title

About the Arranger: Patti Drennan

Patti Drennan

Patti Drennan's career spans three decades of classroom leadership and prolific arranging work. She holds degrees in music education from Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma, and spent 28 years directing choirs in Norman Public Schools, where her programs earned consistent superior ratings and earned her the Director of Distinction Award from the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association in 2004.

Since retiring from full-time teaching, Drennan has established herself as one of the most published choral arrangers in America, with over 425 octavos and two million copies in circulation. She remains active as a clinician and workshop presenter across North America, serves as a guest director for church composer weekends, and continues recording and performing alongside her daughter, a musical theater performer in New York City.

Why we love this

Drennan understands the emotional stakes of holiday programming: singers and audiences both need authenticity, not saccharine sentimentality. This arrangement captures that tension beautifully, giving your SSA ensemble a piece with genuine warmth that feels earned rather than manufactured.

What to expect

Tender and grounded. The arrangement respects the song's central longing while refusing easy nostalgia, creating space for singers to inhabit genuine emotion without overselling it. There's a quiet intimacy here that feels like overhearing someone's real wish.

Who it's for

SSA and SSAA choirs seeking contemporary holiday material with substance. This works equally well for school choirs wanting something beyond the standard carol repertoire and church ensembles looking for a piece that honors both the secular and spiritual dimensions of the season.

How to get the most out of it

  • Balance the text setting carefully so that the sentiment lands without becoming overwrought. Drennan's arranging instinct is to serve the emotional core of the song, so trust her voice leading.
  • Build the piece's arc intentionally across its seven pages. Too much dynamic sameness in the middle section will flatten what should feel like a genuine emotional journey.
  • Explore the lower register voicing in the SSAA option if your ensemble has strong alto depth. The sonority shifts will deepen the arrangement's impact.

How to use it

Position this as a centerpiece of your December concert, perhaps paired with one purely celebratory piece and one contemplative carol to create programming depth. It's substantial enough to anchor a segment and contemporary enough to freshen a traditional holiday concert structure.

Skills your students will build

  • Maintaining lyrical phrasing across phrase boundaries
  • Balancing text clarity with musical line
  • Adjusting dynamic intensity to serve emotional content rather than mechanical crescendo patterns
  • Voicing awareness in SSA and SSAA settings

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