Sleep in Heavenly Peace: SATB Choral Octavo
Arr. Ruth Elaine Schram
Item: 00-PO-0004079
$2.25
Minimum order quantity: 20 copies
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Description
This piece skllfully intertwines "Silent Night" and "What Child Is This?" into an arrangement that's destined to become a classic. This haunting setting moves back and forth between the two carols before ending softly with"sleep in heavenly peace."
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Additional Details
Series:
Alfred Archive Edition: Alfred Choral Designs
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
12
SKU:
00-PO-0004079
More about this title
About the Arranger: Ruth Elaine Schram
Ruth Elaine Schram is an accomplished composer and arranger whose work spans sacred, secular, and educational choral literature. Her arrangements are known for their musical sophistication and accessibility, balancing artistic depth with practical rehearsal demands for church and school choirs.
Why we love this
This arrangement threads two beloved carols together with real compositional craft rather than a simple medley approach. The interweaving of melodies creates moments of genuine harmonic and textural richness, and the ending with that soft resolution on "sleep in heavenly peace" gives your choir a genuinely moving final statement for a holiday concert.
What to expect
The piece has an introspective, almost dreamlike quality as it gently weaves the two familiar melodies together. There's a haunting tenderness to hearing "Silent Night" and "What Child Is This?" intertwined, creating something both nostalgic and fresh, before the music settles into a hushed, peaceful close.
Who it's for
This octavo works well for intermediate to advanced SATB choirs looking for a Christmas selection with more harmonic and structural sophistication than a traditional carol arrangement. It suits both church choirs and school ensembles with solid sight-reading skills and the ability to manage overlapping melodic lines.
How to get the most out of it
- Balance the two melodies carefully when they appear simultaneously; neither should overwhelm the other, and the listener should sense both carols coexisting rather than competing.
- Shape the dynamics subtly across the piece as the arrangement moves between the two songs; small crescendos and diminuendos will highlight the transitions and keep the arrangement from feeling static.
- Pay attention to the text painting in the final "sleep in heavenly peace" section; the softness here should feel earned after the fuller moments earlier in the piece, not abrupt.
How to use it
Use this as a centerpiece in a Christmas concert's second half, particularly if you want a moment of quieter reflection between more robust holiday selections. Its 12-page length and intermediate difficulty make it suitable for programs that need a substantive choral work without extreme technical demands.
Skills your students will build
- Singing two simultaneous melodic lines (independent voice leading)
- Blending harmonic textures while maintaining clear melodic identity
- Shaping soft dynamics and sustaining focus through subdued passages
- Understanding arrangement techniques and how familiar melodies can be reimagined