Easy Christmas Eve Music for the Panicked!
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 993
    I'm happy to offer two arrangements that are useful for choirs with short rehearsal time and limited resources. The first is an SSA arrangement of Lo, How a Rose. The second is the Huron Carol for SAB with optional hand drum (don't snicker, it works). Both are, of course, a cappella. The Huron Carol, which is the "first carol of North America" by St. Jean de Brebeuf features the first verse in Huron - something intriguing and a reminder that the Church is bigger than my suburb. This one is also available on the website of music for small choirs in the UK.

    Easy to learn, pleasant to sing. And enjoyable to listeners (I've been told). Combine either with an organ prelude or improv and you're good to go.

    Do let me know if you use these or like them.
    huron carol choral.pdf
    35K
    Lo how a rose SSA.pdf
    18K
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Speaking of the Jesuit Martyrs and music . . .

    HERE IS AN EXAMPLE of how chant was rendered for the Native Americans in the time of St. Noël Chabanel and St. Antoine Daniel.
    [ courtesy of Claudio R. Salvucci's book "The Roman Rite in the Algonquian & Iroquoian Missions" ]

    You can see they were allowed by the Church to print special books IN THE VERNACULAR.

    taken from this page

    Find out more about the Jesuit Martyrs
  • music123
    Posts: 100
    That's very interesting...I especially like the "A-re-ri-ia" part! (I'm assuming that's Alleluia?)
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    juhorton,

    Correct !
  • JDE
    Posts: 588
    Mary Jane,

    about the Huron text - what are the rules for the pronunciation? Is it meant to be French, where ou = long 'u' and silent H and so forth?
  • JDE
    Posts: 588
    And btw I quite like the Huron carol arrangement and am considering it for my choir. Nothing like the last minute, right?
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 993
    When I've done this, I did use rather "French "vowels, but I did pronounce the "h". I can't remember my justification right now - probably from watching "Black Robe." No, I take that back - I found a version online with a pronunciation guide. Google "huron carol" and while the link is dead, you can find it in the internet archive.

    Of course, virtually no choir member ever paid any attention to anything I said about pronunciation and fortunately there were no Hurons in my north central Florida congregations. But I did enjoy telling my singers all about the North American Martyrs.
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