Seven New Christmas Arrangements by Carsten Gerlitz in the Chorilo Sheet Music Shop

Anyone thinking about Christmas in September either works in retail or runs a choir. If you want to be on stage in December with a fresh programme, now is the time to find the music for it. Right on cue, Carsten Gerlitz has released seven new Christmas arrangements in the Chorilo Sheet Music Shop – most of them for SAB and piano, all available now. From a pop ballad and swing to a minor-key ballad with a secret-agent feel, there is plenty here to give your Christmas concert a colour of its own. Six of the seven pieces have German lyrics; one is in English.

Who is Carsten Gerlitz?

In short: one of the most frequently sung arrangers in the German-speaking world. The Berlin-based composer, pianist and choral conductor has published several hundred choral and piano arrangements – pop, gospel, jazz, folk and, of course, Christmas. Since the mid-1980s he has directed the Happy Disharmonists, one of Germany's oldest pop choirs. Whatever he writes, he has usually tried out in front of a choir himself. If you don't know him yet, our article on "Alles das kann nur Musik" has a fuller portrait.

Why SAB and piano?

Five of the seven new titles are written for three-part mixed choir: soprano, alto and a shared men's part, plus piano. That is not a compromise but a response to the reality of many choirs: the tenors are thin on the ground, the basses can be counted on one hand, and the result still has to sound like something. A well-crafted SAB setting with a supportive piano part sounds full, is quick to learn and leaves room for the words – and with Gerlitz's own, often tongue-in-cheek lyrics, that is not a side effect but the whole point.

Four pieces to make you smile

Gerlitz likes to write about the Christmas that actually happens: the feast, the sofa in front of the TV, and the question of what to give the person who already has everything.

Die Ruhe zwischen den Jahren

A pop ballad on the melody of "The First Noel" – and a love letter to the lazy days between Christmas and New Year: sitting in front of the TV, doing nothing, eating the leftovers. Cosy, calm, for SAB and piano. A piece that lets the tension out of the hall at the end of a concert. Listen on YouTube · View in the shop

Dieses Jahr gibt's nur ein Lied

"Because you already have everything, this year there's only a song." Many choirs knew this title only as a five-part a cappella setting. Now it is also available for SAB and piano – a modern Christmas song in pop clothing with a clear chorus and lyrics that are ironic without turning cold. Listen on YouTube · View in the shop

HICKS!

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is Britain's best-known Christmas song – and a counting song. Gerlitz uses it to count up everything that gets devoured over the holidays. Not just mulled wine, but please with a hiccup. Groovy, with changing time signatures, swing sections and a cappella passages, for SAB and piano. A piece guaranteed to get laughs in concert while still demanding precision in rehearsal. Listen on YouTube · View in the shop

Weißer Winterwald

The swing classic "Winter Wonderland" with new German lyrics about the big festive dinner and its consequences. The choir sinks deep into the white winter forest – with a happy ending and a suggestion for how to shed the pounds again. With a bass ostinato, snapping and whistling effects and small movement cues for the choir. This piece comes in two versions: for SATB and piano and for SSATB a cappella. Listen on YouTube

Three classics, heard anew

Alongside these, Gerlitz has taken on three songs that hardly any Christmas programme in Germany goes without – and given them a sound you would not expect.

Leise rieselt der Schnee

Pop-lounge, as Gerlitz himself puts it. For SATB and piano, at a calm tempo, with expressive piano arpeggios and modulations that bathe the familiar song in a warm light. If you want to keep the classic in your programme without singing the same setting for the hundredth time, this is the one. Listen on YouTube · View in the shop

Süßer die Glocken

The shortest setting in the collection: three-part a cappella for SAB, in three-four time, two pages of music. Ding, dong. Ideal for choirs that need something lean between the big numbers – or for a piece that even a project choir will have securely in place by Christmas. View in the shop

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

The eighteenth-century English carol as a minor-key ballad – with a touch of spy film, licence to sing included. For SAB and piano, with an optional solo, at an unhurried tempo and with an accompaniment that swings quietly. English lyrics. A piece that turns the mood in a concert before things get festive again. Listen on YouTube · View in the shop

From purchase to music folder

All seven titles are in the Chorilo Sheet Music Shop. You choose the number of licences for your choir, complete the purchase – and the music automatically appears in the digital music folder of every singer. On the tablet in rehearsal, on the phone on the train, on the computer at home. No photocopying, no emailing PDFs, no loose sheets. Every voice adds markings and notes directly in their own copy, and every licence is clearly assigned to a member of your choir.

View all seven Christmas arrangements in the shop →

A suggestion for your programme

The seven titles work on their own – but together they almost form a concert set. Open with the swinging "Weißer Winterwald", let the audience laugh with "HICKS!", bring them back down with "Leise rieselt der Schnee" and send them home with "Die Ruhe zwischen den Jahren". For how to organise the weeks before the concert without stress, see our article Organising the Christmas season in your choir without stress.

And if you are wondering whether your choir is ready for a piece: listen to the videos, look at the preview in the shop – and give it a try. Gerlitz's settings are written to be sung.