“Sandy Jasper’s Score of Scores: 20 Best Loved Christmas Carols”
I got this cute little book in the mail, and I wasn’t expecting much more than basic scores, but I was pleasantly surprised. This is nice little book for those of us who are too lazy to play by ear but can read the dots on the page (I think there’s a version with tab too for those who can’t), and even those who aren’t lazy and just want to play harmony with a friend-There’s a 2-part harmony for every song. There’s a fingering chart for both whistle and r***rder and guitar chords. There are also lyrics for each and some interesting historical notes on each song.
There are 20 songs:
Angels We Have Heard on High
Away in a Manger
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Good King Wenceslas
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I Saw Three Ships
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Joy to the World
O Come All Ye Faithful
O Come Little Children
O Come, O Come Emmanuel (More an advent song than a christmas one, but hey, 'tis the season… )
O Holy Night
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Once in Royal David’s City
Silent Night
The First Noel
We Three Kings
What Child is This?
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks.
Hmmm. have the tunes been transposed at all? I believe several of those songs are written in F originally (well, that might be going to far, their marked down in F in the book I have)
I also got a review copy (thanks, Sandy!) and have enjoyed looking through it and showing it to friends.
People’s first response is usually “Oh, wow!”
It looks beautifully and carefully put together (since layout design is my day job, I appreciate a well-thought-out publication).
It looks good for a whistler who plays at just about any level from basic beginner. I did wonder how they can translate Tab into how long to hold a note, but so many tunes are ones we already “know,” that is probably not an issue.
I didn’t notice if any were transcribed from the original key, but that’s exactly what I’d do for whistle. If you want to play it in F, pick up the F whistle and use the tabulature. Of course, the guitar chords would change, but hey, it’s a whistle book.
Maybe Sandy will tell us why the melody is on the right-hand page and the harmony on the left. I would have swapped them, not that it matters much.
No one knows what key most of those tunes might have been written in originally…they’re arranged by each compiler to suit the instruments and voices they’re arranged for.
Sam & Marguerite, thanks for taking the time out to do a little review, it is most appreciated!
Keys: I put all the songs in the lowest keys possible to be played cofortably on the whistle. Sometimes it made the harmonies a little more basic, other times it had no effect, but my intention was to make the songs as pleasant as possible to the ear and so to avoid the really high notes.
Good question Marguerite about why the harmony is on the left and the melody on the right, I did that because I find the right page if often the domanant page, the one we use first and look at first so I put the music that would be used most there!
Where can you get the book? You can order them directly from my web page. I accept paypal or checks. The cost is $25.00 CDN or $20.00 US including shipping. If I know you have a check in the mail, I will post them off right away so that it can get to you as close to Christmas as possible.
Thanks again for the reviews and Merry Christmas all!!!
Hmmmm… I’ll have to check this out. I tend to collect Christmas songbooks.
BTW, this Christmas at church I played several carols in F and C for a children’s little tableau of the Christmas story - no problem on a C whistle (in my case, a Syn). My wife (celtic harp) and son (cello) accompanied.
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