What Child Is This?: Choral Instrumental Pak
Arranged by Mac Huff
Item: 35-PK00416060
$30.00
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Description
Juxtaposing styles of the 16th century melody with classical and contemporary harmonies and rhythms, here is an unexpected and surprising twist on this traditional Christmas ballad that really works. With a quick and constantly moving piano accompaniment, long lines and surprising rhythms and harmonies in the choral writing, your audience will remember this long after the concert.
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Additional Details
Publisher:
Hal Leonard
SKU:
35-PK00416060
More about this title
About the Arranger: Mac Huff
Mac Huff has built a reputation as one of the most prolific and inventive choral arrangers working today, with a gift for finding fresh angles on familiar material. His arrangements consistently challenge singers with sophisticated harmonic language and rhythmic complexity while remaining accessible enough for ambitious high school and community choirs to tackle.
Why we love this
Mac Huff takes a melody most singers could deliver in their sleep and rewires it completely, forcing genuine musical engagement from performers and listeners alike. The clash between Renaissance source material and contemporary harmonic language creates the kind of cognitive surprise that sticks with an audience, and the constantly active piano part ensures this never drifts into novelty territory.
What to expect
This arrangement occupies uncanny territory, catching the listener between the comfort of a centuries-old melody and the unsettling pleasure of hearing it through a completely modern harmonic and rhythmic lens. The constant motion of the piano creates kinetic energy that prevents this from ever feeling precious or reverential, instead giving the piece an almost interrogative quality that keeps ears engaged throughout.
Who it's for
Choirs with secure readers and a willingness to embrace artistic risk will thrive with this arrangement. It works equally well for high school choirs looking to program something that respects their growing sophistication and community choirs seeking holiday material that avoids sentiment.
How to get the most out of it
- Keep the piano part driving forward without rushing; the quicksilver accompaniment should feel propulsive rather than frantic, which means maintaining clarity in the accompaniment's rhythmic figure even as tempos shift.
- Shape the choral lines through the surprising harmonic turns so singers understand where the voice leading is going; unexpected chord movements land harder when the choir sings through them with intention rather than reacting to them.
- Balance the classical harmonic language in the arrangement against the rhythmic energy of the piano so neither overwhelms the other; neither is ornamental here.
How to use it
Pair this with more straightforward holiday repertoire on the same concert to let the contrast heighten both pieces. It functions perfectly as a closer that sends audiences out thinking rather than comforted, making it an ideal anchor for a holiday program built around exploring how tradition and innovation can coexist.
Skills your students will build
- Navigating unexpected harmonic movement within a familiar melodic framework
- Maintaining rhythmic accuracy while accompanying material features constant sixteenth-note motion
- Sustaining long vocal lines across surprising harmonic turns
- Hearing and singing outside traditional functional harmony while grounded in a recognizable tune