Ancient Christmas Carols

Christmas carols officially emerged in the 14th century, though their roots stretch back to ancient, pre-Christian midwinter festivals. Franciscan friars, inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi, created the earliest Christian carols—originally sung as group circle dances. This collection of carols opens with the well-known Basque folk carol Gabriel’s Message which is based on the 13th century Latin Advent carol Angelus Ad Virginem. The second carol, Normandy Carol, also referred to as the Normandy Tune (traditional French folk melody), dates to the 13th century and originates from Basque country. The tune is often used as an alternate melody to the traditional Christmas hymn Away in the Manger. A “Basque” is a member of an indigenous ethnic group living in the western Pyrenees region of Spain and France.” (Merriam-Webster) The third carol, Branle de l’Official, also known as Ding Dong! Merrily on High (20th century lyrics), was composed in the 16th century by French cleric Jehan Tabourot. Published in 1589 in his dance manual Orchésographie, Tabourot used the pen name Thoinot Arbeau. Seeing as he was a Catholic priest and canon, publishing a manual that focused on social dancing and using his given name would have been frowned upon–he had a reputation to protect!

The first two carols showcase the various voices of the flute choir with prominent solo lines and drones. For obvious reasons, the lower octave of the piccolo is seldom heard in ensemble music, including flute choir arrangements. But as a solo voice in combination with alto, bass or contrabass flute, it allows us to hear tone colors seldom used. With the increasing interest in and popularity of lower- voiced flutes, a wider palette of tone color is available, which is necessary when arranging simple melodies such as these. The third carol has dramatic, subito dynamics and specific articulation markings that should be strictly adhered to, avoiding tedium. It includes verses with soloists, a verse with piccolo and C flutes, and a verse featuring alto, bass and contrabass flutes. The articulations are purposefully not always the same between parts in any given section.

I have always been an advocate of the “no vibrato rule” in the flute choir setting. Using vibrato on solos is acceptable if it works within the context and style of the music. All three carols were composed well before flutists started to use vibrato. With that in mind, it is highly recommended that flutists avoid using any vibrato, especially on drones, accompanying material or chords that support melodic lines.

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Michael Kibbe, composer, has a total creative output of over 310 concert works, including six string quartets, twenty‐four wind quintets, and a large variety of mixed chamber music for winds, strings, brass, harp, keyboards and percussion. His catalogue includes works for band, orchestra and concerto soloists. Kibbe’s compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, and China.

As oboe soloist he has appeared in concertos by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Marcello, Vivaldi and Kibbe. In addition to a performing degree on oboe and bassoon, he plays most other standard woodwind instruments, and performed and recorded professionally for over 40 years in the Los Angeles area. He also performed at numerous celebrity events, including the weddings for Barbara Streisand, Charlie Sheen and Brooke Shields.

For 17 years he was oboist and arranger with the Los Angeles based North Wind Quintet, which performed in concerts and on radio broadcasts, presented hundreds of school programs, and toured Mexico three times.

He currently resides in far northern California and plays oboe and English horn in the Eureka Symphony, where he is also the Music Librarian. He is a founding member of Wind Energy, a wind quintet that performs in Humboldt County.

This is a digital version of the piece that you can download as a PDF and print . 

The Pipes Of Pan, opus 233, for Flute Orchestra

Michael Kibbe

A single flute announces the piece with a brief cadenza that acts as the basis for much of the following musical development.

When composing this piece I tried to keep in mind an image of multiple flutists and wood nymphs (worshipers of the god Pan?) meeting in the forest for both thoughtful communion and festive dancing.

And so “The Pipes Of Pan” alternates between slow contemplative passages and more rapid, dance-like sections. Part-way into the allegro (letter E) the low flutes create a chromatic underpinning for the group; like the unsettled whistling of a stormy wind.

As in most of my music, I try to ensure that each player has a sense of “purpose” for being there. It is not only the principle flute that has solo passages; important lines exist also for the secondary flutes, the piccolo and the low flutes.

This is a digital version of the piece that you can download as a PDF and print.

El Cascabel for Flute Ensemble by Lorenzo Barcelata

Arranged by Christin Hablewitz

2026

Instrumentation

Piccolo

Flute 1 , 2, 3

Alto Flute 1 , 2

Bass Flute 1 , 2

Contra Bass Flute

Double Contra Bass Flute

Duration 3:45

Composition Notes

El Cascabel, or "The Rattle" is a traditional Mexican mariachi song from Veracruz, located on the eastern coast of Mexico along the Gulf of Mexico. It is a state rich in history and culture and became a hub for trade between Spain, Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean. The song is in the son huapango folk-style and popularized by the Veracruz born composer Lorenzo Barcelata. The song talks about a rattle adorned with a purple ribbon that reverberates in the sand that is worn as an amulet that protects its bearer from evil. Mariachi is a unique and wonderful musical style with an unmistakable unique sound that is a powerful symbol of Mexican culture, identity and community pride; a reminder of shared human experience and cultural heritage.

I fell in love with this song when learning and performing it with my students in Southern California. We loved the groove, variations and energy of the song, along with how the meter shifted between 3/4 and 6/8 time. The song “moved us” and changed our mood and emotion to joy and exuberance every time we played it. I just knew it would be a fun song for a flute ensemble too and this lively arrangement was created. I hope your ensemble can feel the power of this vibrant and important music.

-Christin Hablewitz

This is a digital version of the piece that you can download as a PDF and print. 

Most people know Pablo Casals as one of history’s greatest cellists. But he was also a conductor, educator, and composer. In 1942, when Casals was 66, Pablo Casals (1876–1973) wrote “Nigra Sum,” one of his best-known choral works and one of the most beautiful choral works ever written. This beautiful choral composition was written for the Choir School at Montserrat, near Barcelona.

Nigra sum sets in a collection of biblical verses. Casals’s work uses verses I:4–5 and II: 10–11 from the Song of Solomon. The Song of Solomon is part of the Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant Bible.

Duration: 5’15”

This is a digital version of the piece that you can download as a PDF and print.