Christmas Carol

Another little one-minute instrumental carol to add to the ones I've written previously.

I always find it very difficult to compose for these types of ensembles. This piece sounds quite solemn, but it also stirs up certain emotions. Thank you.

5 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

I always find it very difficult to compose for these types of ensembles. This piece sounds quite solemn, but it also stirs up certain emotions. Thank you.

 

Thanks!  Yeah, I think I would have a hard time writing an extended piece for brass ensemble too.

Hi @Aiwendil!

Just like @Luis Hernández said this one is very joyful and solemn to listen to. 

I love how you augur the theme by trumpet first and then followed by other instruments. That Lydian sounding C natural in b.16 and 20 hints at a more antique English style and I like it. The imitation section follows is nicely done as well, and very nice reprise as well, with the Amen cadence at the end! Thx for sharing!

P.S. Thx for your comments on my youtube channel for my Violin Sonata!

Henry

10 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Hi @Aiwendil!

Just like @Luis Hernández said this one is very joyful and solemn to listen to. 

I love how you augur the theme by trumpet first and then followed by other instruments. That Lydian sounding C natural in b.16 and 20 hints at a more antique English style and I like it. The imitation section follows is nicely done as well, and very nice reprise as well, with the Amen cadence at the end! Thx for sharing!

P.S. Thx for your comments on my youtube channel for my Violin Sonata!

Henry

 

Thanks for listening!  Yeah, I was going for an antique English sound with those C naturals.

By the way, I've been intending to listen to your C sharp minor sonata in full (I listened to the first movement when you first posted it on YouTube) but want to do so when I have plenty of time to enjoy it and give you comments.

7 hours ago, Aiwendil said:

By the way, I've been intending to listen to your C sharp minor sonata in full (I listened to the first movement when you first posted it on YouTube) but want to do so when I have plenty of time to enjoy it and give you comments.

Thank you! 🤩

I love that short carol with its memorable subject being repeated in different variations throughout the piece in a counterpuntual style as a five part choral. The usage of a „Posaunenchor“ perfectly matches the mood of Christmas; I can literally imagine the brass instrumentalists standing nearby the entry of the church where people are gathering on Christmas eve.

For one who is not familar with what a „Posaunenchor“ is, I quote the - oh, what a hot iron – AI generated answer of „what is a posaunenchor“ which, in my opinion, exactly explains it:

A Posaunenchor (German for "trombone choir" or "brass band") is a community-based, multi-generational amateur brass ensemble, strongly rooted in the German Protestant church, that plays sacred music (hymns, chorales) but also secular pieces (classical, jazz, pop) for church services, concerts, and community events, emphasizing fellowship and faith across ages and backgrounds.

For my taste, it is played a bit faster than real „Posaunenchöre“ would do, perhaps it is very cold outside and the players want to get inside the church as soon as possible ...

Hey, very cool intro at the beginning, foreshadowing the syncopated / swing-like main melody. Love the change-up at around 30 seconds in. A very elegant / diplomatic sounding tune!

On 12/29/2025 at 7:35 AM, Wieland Handke said:

I love that short carol with its memorable subject being repeated in different variations throughout the piece in a counterpuntual style as a five part choral. The usage of a „Posaunenchor“ perfectly matches the mood of Christmas; I can literally imagine the brass instrumentalists standing nearby the entry of the church where people are gathering on Christmas eve.

For one who is not familar with what a „Posaunenchor“ is, I quote the - oh, what a hot iron – AI generated answer of „what is a posaunenchor“ which, in my opinion, exactly explains it:

A Posaunenchor (German for "trombone choir" or "brass band") is a community-based, multi-generational amateur brass ensemble, strongly rooted in the German Protestant church, that plays sacred music (hymns, chorales) but also secular pieces (classical, jazz, pop) for church services, concerts, and community events, emphasizing fellowship and faith across ages and backgrounds.

For my taste, it is played a bit faster than real „Posaunenchöre“ would do, perhaps it is very cold outside and the players want to get inside the church as soon as possible ...

 

Thanks!  I do wonder if it maybe it would also work at a slower tempo.  A brass ensemble playing this outside a church on a chilly, snowy Christmas Eve is exactly the sort of image I was trying to conjure here.

On 12/29/2025 at 8:53 AM, chopin said:

Hey, very cool intro at the beginning, foreshadowing the syncopated / swing-like main melody. Love the change-up at around 30 seconds in. A very elegant / diplomatic sounding tune!

 

Thanks for listening, and for your comments!

Hey @Aiwendil!

Very cool brass quintet!  It's definitely very Christmassy and in an original way is difficult to achieve!  I have also used a brass ensemble (a brass octet) in my 3rd Christmas Mash-up this year.  You can judge for yourself whether it's any good LoL.  I think your rendition is much better than mine as I just used Musesounds.  I do wonder why you chose the specific instruments that you did.  Why you chose the D Trumpet is obvious since the piece is in D.  But why the Bb trumpet instead of another D trumpet or a C trumpet?  Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year!

6 hours ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

Hey @Aiwendil!

Very cool brass quintet!  It's definitely very Christmassy and in an original way is difficult to achieve!  I have also used a brass ensemble (a brass octet) in my 3rd Christmas Mash-up this year.  You can judge for yourself whether it's any good LoL.  I think your rendition is much better than mine as I just used Musesounds.  I do wonder why you chose the specific instruments that you did.  Why you chose the D Trumpet is obvious since the piece is in D.  But why the Bb trumpet instead of another D trumpet or a C trumpet?  Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year!

 

I'm kind of wondering the same thing myself now!  I guess I tend to think of the B flat trumpet as the "default" in a brass ensemble, so when I started writing it, I started with two B flat trumpets.  The first trumpet part, I realized, was going quite high, so I changed it to a D trumpet.  But it would have made more sense to change the second to C trumpet for a more reasonable key signature.  To be perfectly honest, I was rushing to try to finish this before Christmas, and didn't think it through properly.

Thanks for listening, and happy new year to you too!