Christimas

[mjames]

Anyone know any paraphrases/variations of Christmas tunes?

and as a bonus, what about some nicely done transcriptions of famous Christmas songs?

[visitor]

i've tons of this. i love christmas music for piano and have loads and loads of it in my archives. will post more but do have a  look at the Brubeck Christmas arrangments, they're super awesome

Radnich did some cool virtuosic show pieces, I have at least one of them around here, they're well done and will turn heads
https://jarrodradnich.3dcartstores.com/Christmas_c_23.html





Mino Kabasawa has some nice ones to (not my favorite style but some will like this more than my than the spicer Brubeck)

this one's cool
more

[visitor]

not techincally an xmas tune but i have found it is more and more traditionally played around this time of year so it's starting to get associated w/ the holidays more and more, it's awesome and on my to do list (no sooner than mid 2016 on my end though)

[chopinlover01]

I've found it fun to write Xmas lead sheets and improvise off those. Then again, I'm referring to jazz only, so that may not be what you want. If you're looking for scored jazz, there was a sort of medley I found a few months back for sale, I can try to find it if you'd like.

[rubinsteinmad]

Busoni's "Turandot's Frauengenmach".

You may want to revise it a little though, because Busoni's choices of dissonance are not very appealing.

[indianajo]

George Winston did a very nice version of The Holly and the Ivy on Winter. I've scored it to learn it as I can't play anything that complicated by ear.  I can't even remember it since it is a theme and variations.
Franz Listz did a Christmas suite for piano, oddly.  I just heard a movement of it on the radio.  It doesn't sound that hard, compared to his other stuff. 

[yewtree]

I've been playing this one..

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.

[yewtree]

And, Coventry Carol.  
I'll  post the music if anyone wants.

[/youtube]





Not me playing, btw.   

[rubinsteinmad]

    I'm surprised no one mentioned Tchaikovsky-Pletnev's Nutcracker Concert Suite.
While Pletnev removed some of my favorite movements from the Nutcracker (such as the Overture, the Coffee Dance, and the Flower Waltz), it is still a great transcription.
     Percy Grainger also made a paraphrase on the Flower Waltz. Not exactly my flavor, but you can see if you like it.
      Less technically demanding is Tchaikovsky's own transcription of the entire concert suite. I think it is very beautiful.

Also, Chopin's Scherzo #1 has a Polish Christmas Carol inside of it, beauifully transcribed. It has some popularity here in the US (but I'm not sure if you're from the US, mjames?)

[rubinsteinmad]

Schubert-Liszt's Ave Maria is very beautiful, yet very tehnically demanding.

Gounod-Bizet's Ave Maria is exquisite as well. However, Gounod's own transcription is easier, but not as exquisite imo.

[trifonov]

@rubinsteinmad Thanks

[trifonov]

Oh, and in Liszt's Christmas Suite/Ehemals, there are transcriptions of Adeste Fidelis and In Dulci Jubilo.