Christmas in France combines two traditional French Christmas carols: Il est né, le devin Enfant (He is born, the Divine Child) and Noël nouvelet (Christmas anew). The former dates back to the early 1800s; the latter is a hymn from the 16th century or earlier and has been translated into English as ‘Sing We Now Of Christmas’ or ‘Christmas Comes Anew’.
Sing we now of Christmas,
Noel, sing we here!
Hear our grateful praises
to the babe so dear.
Refrain: Sing we Noel, the King is born, Noel!
Sing we now of Christmas, sing we now Noel!
Several verses have been added in order to highlight the most important parts of Christ’s birth; from the rejoicing of heaven and earth with shepherds and angels, to the fulfilling of prophecies and the coming of the Wise Men, aka the Three Kings.
As with all flexible arrangements, not all combinations of instruments will produce satisfactory results. Preferably, the ensemble should be small and varied, and never a full band.
The combination of these five brass instruments is recommended for best result: two Trumpets, one French Horn, one Baritone/Euphonium and one Tuba.
The sound clip is computer generated using sampled sounds (AI). Transcriptions and descriptions are not AI-generated.
Set contains one 5-part score in C split into 18 parts (one folded sheet for each), as download or on paper. Copying allowed by acquiring band for their performances only. Additional copies may be obtained from the J. W. Pepper webshop.
Christmas in France combines two traditional French Christmas carols: Il est né, le devin Enfant (He is born, the Divine Child) and Noël nouvelet (Christmas anew). The former dates back to the early 1800s; the latter is a hymn from the 16th century or earlier and has been translated into English as ‘Sing We Now Of Christmas’ or ‘Christmas Comes Anew’.
