This first collection of five carols samples the vast spectrum of festive musical fare that still lies at the heart of the English Christmas tradition. Whether for the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, or the occasional caroller, these carols offer a comforting annual sanctuary from the dizzying maelstroms of modern being. The volume opens with Ding dong! merrily on high, a carol famed for its lengthy melismatic melodic sequence. G.R. Woodward, an Anglican priest, took a 16th century French dance tune and added lyrics, and in doing so betrayed his ardent passion for bellringing. I saw three ships, equally skittish, is a carol of unestablished English origin – possibly Derbyshire, possibly Cornwall – with the ambiguous line ‘O they sailed into Bethlehem’ the subject of much inconclusive discussion. Three carol-hymn favourites follow: O come, all ye faithful; O little town of Bethlehem; and Once in royal David’s city: all firm mainstays of any English carol concert or service. Now often heard embellished to the hilt, these SAM-Klang arrangements faithfully observe the original craftsmanship.

The name SAM-Klang takes the three voice parts from the arrangements – Soprano, Alto and Men – and combines it with the Scandinavian and German words for ‘sound’ to create the portmanteau word ‘sound together’ or ‘harmony’. The SAM-Klang series offers basic and advanced choral repertoire arranged for soprano, alto and one male voice- part. In addition to new repertoire and new arrangements, you will also find essential parts of the classical German, Scandinavian, French and English SATB repertoire, carefully and considerately reworked for SAM. The arrangements retain the characteristic features of the original movements and have almost the same richness of timbre, resulting in works which sound nearly unchanged to an audience. Piano reductions of all choral movements facilitate rehearsal preparation. The arrangements offer development opportunities for all voice sections, bringing new life and new quality to SAM choir work. SAM-Klang enables youth choirs to gain access to classical choral literature and ensures that mixed choirs who face challenges in finding singers for all male voice parts continue to have access to well-loved repertoire.