The Christmas Shortlist
Selected and reviewed by Andrew Eales
Since Faber Music took charge of the esteemed Edition Peters publishing house, I’ve been interested to see how these two very different entities would complement each other. The new Christmas collection Das Klavierbuch zur Weihnacht provides compelling evidence that theirs is a partnership made in heaven.
To use the English translation (the book includes both German and English throughout), The Christmas Piano Book brilliantly combines Faber’s penchant for bumper anthologies that mix established classics with fresh arrangements and offer superb value, with Edition Peters’ more serious aesthetic and reputation for superb classical music editing.
According to the publishers,
The Christmas Piano Book brings together pianistic arrangements of the most popular carols from Germany and beyond, alongside a selection of festive piano pieces by renowned composers. Ideal for intermediate to advanced-level pianists, the collection features newly created arrangements of favourites such as Silent Night, O Tannenbaum and Joy to the World, alongside works ranging from Bach’s Sinfonia from the Christmas Oratorio and Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, to atmospheric pieces including Elfrida Andrée’s Julstämning and the title theme from Three Wishes for Cinderella. This beautifully presented volume is the ultimate companion for the festive season and an ideal Christmas gift.
This is indeed a beautiful publication, as well as a keenly priced one. The Christmas Piano Book is an easy recommendation, and here’s why I love it…
40 Festive Classics
Subtitled 40 Carols and Festive Classics from Germany and Beyond, the contents of this 120-page volume are as follows:
- Adeste Fideles (Liszt)
- Alle Jahre Wieder
- Am Weihnachtsbaum Die Lichter Brennen
- Ave Maris Stella (Grieg)
- Carol of the Bells (duet)
- Ce que l’on entendit dans la nuit de Noël (Prélude) (Holmès)
- Christbaum (Die Könige) (Cornelius)
- Christmas Song, from Anjou (Franck)
- Christmas Tree, from The Children’s Christmas Eve Op. 36 (Gade)
- Christnacht (Himmel)
- Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (duet) (Tchaikovsky)
- Die Schlittschuhläufer (Piano Waltz) (Waldteufel)
- Es ist ein Ros entsprungen/Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
- Forunderligt at sige/Verwunderlich zu sehen (Nielsen)
- Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
- Les Anges dans nos campagnes/Hört der Engel helle Lieder
- Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier (Bach)
- Ihr Kinderlein, kommet
- In dulci jubilo (Liszt)
- Joy to the World (Handel)
- Julstämning (Andrée)
- Kling, Glöckchen, Klingelingeling
- Knecht Ruprecht (Schumann)
- Leise rieselt der Schnee
- Macht hoch die Tür (Reger)
- Maria durch ein’ Dornwald ging
- O come, all ye faithful
- O du fröhliche
- O Holy Night/Cantique de Noël
- O Tannenbaum
- Pifa, from Messiah (Handel)
- Prinz Adolar und das Tausendschönchen (Vorspiel Weihnachtsmärchen) (Nikisch)
- Quem Pastores
- Sinfonia from Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 (Bach)
- Stille Nacht / Silent Night
- Süßer die Glocken nie klingen
- Thine Be the Glory (Handel)
- Three Wishes for Cinderella (title music) (Svoboda)
- Variations on ‘Ah vous dirai-je, Maman’ (Mozart)
- Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her, from Das Jahr (Hensel)
Around a quarter of these pieces are piano originals, including the titles by Mozart, Schumann, Liszt, Fanny Hensel, and Augusta Holmès. The remainder are arrangements, most provided by Faber Music stalwart Oliver Weeks.
The music as a whole is suitable for intermediate players (around UK Grade 4) to advanced players (Grade 8+).
In a final flourish (and a nice touch), the anthology concludes with two duets (suitable for late intermediate players): Carol of the Bells and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, neatly arranged for one piano, four hands.
The publication
With its tasteful dark blue cover evoking a nighttime skyline in an old town, offset with gold-embossed writing and decoration, this collection makes quite an immediate aesthetic impact.
The publication has the soft, easy-to-open binding one expects from Edition Peters, rather than the stiff card Faber favour, and the pages throughout are printed on premium cream paper, adding to the sense of class and avoiding glare, thereby making the scores easier to read.
The scores themselves are presented in loosely progressive order of ascending difficulty and are beautifully engraved. Helpful fingerings are included throughout.
Subtle (but seasonal!) line-drawn illustrations appear throughout, but one disappointment is that the book includes no Preface or discussion of the pieces, their background and sources.
Closing thoughts
The Christmas Piano Book is truly one to cherish, designed to stand the test of time. Here is a distinctive collection that firmly and unapologetically celebrates the season with a smorgasbord of superb classical melodies and evocative Christmas pieces.
The Central European emphasis of the music may mark it out as a niche collection, but I can think of many who will be relieved that the book doesn’t serve up yet another simplified version of All I Want for Christmas Is You!
There’s truly a wealth of great music here, and having spent considerable time exploring the collection, I have found it to be of uniformly high quality. This is a collection I will certainly be playing from myself this Christmas, and hopefully returning to in the years to come.
Delightful, delicious, and destined to be a classic, this jumps straight to the top of my shortlist of piano music books this Christmas!
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