Christmas Day
Choral Fantasy on Old Carols H 109, 1910
Christmas Day by Gustav Holst is an artfully crafted fantasy on traditional English Christmas carols. Composed in 1910 for his students, the work weaves together well-known melodies such as “Good Christian Men, Rejoice” and “The First Nowell” into an engaging musical narrative that captures the essence of the Yuletide spirit. Thanks to the skillful orchestration and rich harmonies, this classic of the British choral tradition fits into almost any festive program — even outside its British homeland.
The editor is the English conductor and composer Howard Arman, who is making the work available for the first time as a critical Urtext edition. With its transparent structure and flexible accompaniment options, the work is suitable for choirs of various sizes and abilities.
Holst himself offered flexible performance options. It is possible to perform the work with orchestra and choir; alternatively, the wind parts may be omitted, for which case Holst supplied the string parts with corresponding cue-sized notes that should then be played. Using the organ reduction, the work may also be performed by organ and choir, or alternatively piano and choir.
Christmas Day – a simple yet effective addition to the choral repertoire for the festive season!
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Composer
Gustav Holst
| 1874-1934Gustav Holst (1874–1934) was a British composer. Today, he is best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, which he composed in 1914 during a period of interest in astrology. Apart from this audience favourite, Holst also wrote several operas and other orchestral works, including the St Paul's Suite, which is a popular piece with youth orchestras as it is relatively easy to play. He also wrote sacred and secular vocal works. Personal details
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