Christmas SAB Motets

JazFenn

I am seeking recommendations for SAB polyphony that would be suitable for a Christmas Midnight Mass. I would love to hear any suggestions!

m_r_taylor

Not sure if this would be a terrible idea or not, but you might check out Feroci's 3-part "arrangement" of Victoria's O Magnum Mysterium, and have the treble voices read the tenor clefs as treble clefs.

https://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/O_magnum_mysterium_(Francesco_Feroci)

Xopheros

Here are some suggestions:

Morales wrote a polyphonic setting of "Puer natus est nobis" that is based on the Gregorian chant melody
Another variant of the chant melody of "Puer natus est" is the hymn "Let all together praise our God", of which I had made a three part fugato setting with cantus firmus in the bottom (sic!) voice.
The Christmas version of my setting of Tollite portas is very simple and based on the text given in the Offertoriale.
The late medieval Christmas hymn "There comes a galley laden" is very popular in Germany, though less so in English speaking countries, I think. Here is a three part setting. The text origin goes back at least to the 14th century, and, although the melody today sung is later (17th century), it has quite an "antique" flavor which probably is responsible for its popularity. Note that the unusual switch from perfect time to imperfect time is a marvelous musical expression of God becoming man.

StimsonInRehab

di Lasso's Hodie Apparuit is a option we've used in the past. Three-part motet with some SAB editions at cpdl:

https://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Hodie_apparuit_in_Israel_(Orlando_di_Lasso)

CGM

From the new Parish Book of 3-vc motets:

Sol occasum nesciens — Isaac
https://churchmusicassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Isaac-Sol-occasum-nesciens-SAB-final.pdf

Jeffrey Quick

You could do the 2-part version of Yon's Mass of the Shepherds and have your basses do the optional 3rd part (or one of the others, if the bass is too low). I know, technically it's not Christmas music, but it sounds like Christmas. It's borderline trashy, but it was toney enough to be used at St. John Cantius, and Christmas is the time to "let your hair down a little."

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