WILLCOCKS, David
FIVE CHRISTMAS CAROLS
Concert Chorals Series GMCH010
Level of Difficulty
Attributing a particular level of difficulty to an orchestral piece is awkward!
A piece may be easy for the strings but difficult for the brass; it may feature a tricky instrumental solo but the other parts may be relatively straight forward. A number of the arrangements listed are designed to simplify works to some extent but composers of many original works featured did not consider difficulty when writing them.
What our levels mean:
A = for players up to UK Grade 3
B = Grade 3 to 5
C = Grade 4 to 6
D = Grade 5 to 7
E = Grade 6 to 8
F = Grade 7 and over
Our gradings should be taken only as a rough guide.
To be sure if a piece is suitable for you, take a look at the score.
Orchestration
2 Flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in Bb, 2 Bassoons
2 Horns in F, 2 Trumpets in Bb, Timpani
Strings (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass)
SATB chorus [not included in set of parts]
God rest you merry, gentleman; O come, all ye faithful; Unto us is born a Son; The first Nowell; Hark! The herald angels sing. These five Christmas Carols have been arranged by David Willcocks for orchestra to accompany his SATB arrangement, the vocal score of which is sold by Oxford University Press (ISBN 0193535637). These same arrangements also appear in the Carols for Choirs books. This orchestral accompaniment may be played by strings only. The piano or organ part shown in the vocal score may be added if required. This orchestration was originally published by OUP (now out of print) and was republished by us in 2004. The new edition is entirely compatible with the OUP original edition.
These orchestrations are fully compatible with the choral versions contained in CAROLS FOR CHOIRS Book 1 and 100 CAROLS FOR CHOIRS.
A PACK comprises an A4 sized full score plus a complete set of parts including strings 4/4/3/4/2.