Sending You a Little Christmas: 2-Part Choral Octavo

Jay Althouse's 2-part arrangement preserves the emotional directness of Brickman's melody while making it genuinely accessible for mixed-ability choirs. The pop idiom and contemporary lyrical content give your choir a modern holiday selection that avoids the oversaturated classical repertoire without sacrificing musicality. Singers respond immediately to material this warm and straightforward.

Intimate and reflective, like a handwritten card set to music. The pop ballad style feels contemporary and genuine rather than theatrical, inviting singers and listeners into a quiet moment of connection. The melody sits naturally in the voice and carries both tenderness and quiet conviction.

Choirs with intermediate sight-reading skills and singers ranging from middle school through adult levels. The 2-part voicing works for mixed ensembles, treble choirs, or lower voice groups, making it a flexible holiday option across multiple contexts.

• Honor the legato character throughout. This is a ballad, not a march, so phrase across barlines and resist clipping note endings.
• Balance the parts carefully in rehearsal. The 2-part voicing requires both parts to be heard clearly; the arrangement depends on neither voice overpowering the other.
• Use the recorded accompaniment to establish the piano-driven texture and emotional tempo before rehearsing without it.
• Shape the narrative arc. The lyric about distance closing through the holidays suggests dynamics that build gently through the middle sections and settle warmly at the end.

This works beautifully in the second half of a holiday concert, where it can serve as a lyrical palate cleanser between upbeat selections or as a gentle closer before a final carol. Consider pairing it with other secular contemporary pieces to create a mixed holiday program that speaks to modern audiences alongside traditional repertoire.

• Sustaining legato phrasing across longer melodic lines
• Balancing two independent vocal parts with equal musical weight
• Interpreting pop-style diction and text expression
• Singing with dynamic shape and emotional intention in a contemporary idiom