Three Jazz Carols: B-flat Tenor Saxophone: Choral SoundPax
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear / The Coventry Carol / Angels We Have Heard on High
Arr. Donald Moore
Item: 00-PC-0000723_TX1
$3.00
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Description
"It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "The Coventry Carol," and "Angels We have Heard on High" like you have never heard them before. This brief holiday medley delights with its jazzy harmonies and swingy waltz tempos that break only once in the balladic middle. It's here that Donald Moore weaves in two additional Christmas themes. Outstanding when performed with a live jazz combo (using the SoundPax parts) or with the SoundTrax CD. SoundPax includes parts for 2 cl., a. sax., t. sax., rhy.
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Three Jazz Carols: B-flat Tenor Saxophone: Choral SoundPax comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
Alfred Choral Designs
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
24
SKU:
00-PC-0000723_TX1
Instrumentation:
SoundPax
More about this title
About the Arranger: Donald Moore
Donald Moore earned his Bachelor of Music in organ performance and Master of Arts in Teaching from Kent State University. He serves as Organist-Choirmaster at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and has established himself as a prolific voice in American choral music across multiple genres and formats.
With over 500 compositions published through Alfred Music, Hal Leonard, Heritage Music Press, and other major publishers, Moore's work spans sacred and secular choral literature, educational collections, and organ and piano repertoire. His compositions are regular fixtures at state festivals and national conventions, and he has received the ASCAP Composers Standard Award seventeen times. The American Choral Directors Association recognized him as one of 400 elite composers of historical significance in American choral music.
Why we love this
Moore's jazz settings of these beloved carols capture something genuinely fresh without losing the heart of the melodies. The arrangement balances entertainment value with real musicality, offering your choir a festive novelty piece that still demands ensemble discipline and stylistic awareness. The optional instrumentation gives you flexibility; you can perform it as a choral feature or expand it into a full combo number depending on your resources.
What to expect
Cheerful sophistication defines this medley. The opening swings with infectious energy as familiar carols emerge in unexpected harmonic colors, then the middle section pulls back into a contemplative, almost intimate ballad before the rejoicing returns. It's the sound of holiday tradition meeting jazz club elegance.
Who it's for
This arrangement works for choirs seeking holiday repertoire that surprises audiences without sacrificing musicality. High school, college, and community choirs with singers comfortable in popular and jazz idioms will thrive with this piece, especially those that can assemble or access a small jazz combo.
How to get the most out of it
- Lock the ensemble into the swing feel early in rehearsals. The jazzy harmonies will land more securely once singers feel the rhythmic pocket underneath the chords.
- When using the SoundPax parts, give your instrumentalists advance rehearsal time so they're locked in before joining the choir. The rhythm section drives the energy, and small ensemble coordination pays off immediately.
- Shape the balladic section (where the additional Christmas themes appear) with real sensitivity to tempo and dynamics. The shift from swing to ballad is the arrangement's most poignant moment and deserves restraint.
- Encourage singers to listen to jazz vocal recordings if they're unfamiliar with the genre. Hearing how jazz singers approach phrasing, articulation, and swing will inform their interpretation of the text and harmonies.
How to use it
Open a winter concert with this piece to signal that you're offering something beyond the expected carol set. Its brevity makes it an ideal companion to longer, more serious holiday works, or program it as the finale of a lighter concert section before shifting into reverent sacred repertoire.
Skills your students will build
- Jazz harmony and jazz chord nomenclature
- Swing rhythm and syncopation in ensemble context
- Stylistic flexibility and genre-appropriate phrasing
- Sight-reading non-traditional harmonic progressions
- Ensemble balance with optional instrumental parts