Please Come Home for Christmas (arr. Don Henken): SSAA Choral Octavo

Don Henken's arrangement captures the warmth and melancholy of the original without sacrificing the song's essential character. The SSAA voicing sits naturally for most choirs while maintaining the bluesy harmonic language that makes this tune resonate with audiences. Programming this during holiday concerts gives your singers a contemporary classic that connects rather than condescends.

Melancholic and searching, with an undercurrent of hope. This arrangement honors the original's emotional complexity: the longing in the lyrics exists alongside the sophisticated harmonic language of jazz and blues, creating something far more textured than typical seasonal choral fare.

Choirs with solid blend and intonation skills will find this arrangement rewards attention to the chromatic and jazz harmonies Henken likely employs. The 102 pages suggest an extended work or comprehensive package, making it suitable for choirs preparing a full holiday concert or looking for substantive contemporary repertoire.

• Balance the inner voices carefully in the fuller passages; the arrangement likely includes important harmonic color that gets buried if sopranos dominate the texture.
• Shape the phrasing around the lyrical contour rather than bar lines. The blues and jazz roots of this piece thrive on slight rhythmic flexibility within a steady pulse.
• Consider how the arrangement handles dynamics at climactic moments. Resist the urge to crescendo uniformly; let individual voice parts rise and fall to reveal the harmonic movement underneath.

Anchor a contemporary holiday segment with this, pairing it with other blues or jazz influenced arrangements to create thematic coherence. The piece works equally well as a concert closer that sends the audience home with genuine emotion, or as a mid-program moment of artistic substance that reminds listeners why they came to a choral concert.

• Singing jazz and blues harmony with accurate intonation
• Interpreting contemporary arranging techniques in choral voice leading
• Phrasing lyrical material with expression while maintaining ensemble cohesion
• Balancing inner voices in chromatic harmonic progressions