The Twelve Keys of Christmas

This is a Christmas suite in three movements. It’s called “The Twelve Keys of Christmas” because it goes through 12 key signatures and uses about a dozen well-known carols. It also quotes about 30 other tunes, some fairly obvious and some less obvious and very well hidden. So, you could play ‘spot the tune’ with the audience. Choral parts are available for the main carols, so this could be performed with brass band and choir. As well exploring many tunes and key signatures, the piece also uses every style of brass band arranging, from traditional to contemporary, from folk to reggae by way of big band swing.

Instrumentation: Brass band

Percussion: Minimum 3 players

Playing standard: Advanced

Duration: 11’ 45”