SATB and piano (with optional percussion)
Duration: 3.5 minutes | Difficulty: Very Easy – Easy
This highly imaginative, creative arrangement of the popular Christmas carol for SATB, piano and percussion by Michael Higgins, brings the traditional story alive as the Three Kings (and their camels) follow the Star to Bethlehem.
SABar and piano (with optional percussion)
Duration: 3.5 minutes | Difficulty: Very Easy – Easy
This highly imaginative, creative arrangement of the popular Christmas carol for SABar, piano and percussion by Michael Higgins, brings the traditional story alive as the Three Kings (and their camels) follow the Star to Bethlehem.
SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied
Duration: 3 minutes | Difficulty: Easy – Moderately Difficult
Based on a traditional Portuguese carol from Alentejo, ‘Ó meu Menino’ is gentle lullaby sung to the baby Jesus. This a cappella arrangement for SATB by Michael Higgins includes a Portuguese text with a singable English transliteration.
SSATTBB unaccompanied
Duration: 3.5 minutes | Difficulty: Moderately Difficult
A dramatic and expressive arrangement by Michael Higgins of the 15th century melody, scored for SSATTBB unaccompanied. Through varying the choral textures throughout, he creates an atmospheric new version of the well-known carol.
SATB (with divisions) and organ
Duration: 2.5 minutes | Difficulty: Easy
This sparkling arrangement of the traditional English carol presents the familiar melody through a variety of textures, ranging from unison to five parts. Accompanied by organ, the carol concludes with a soaring soprano descant. Light and rhythmic in style, it dances with joy and celebration, perfect for concerts and services.
SABar and piano
Duration: 3 minutes | Difficulty: Very Easy – Easy
Higgins’s arrangement of the popular German carol is given a modern twist with fresh harmonies, but still captures the gentleness and tranquillity found in more traditional settings. Supported by sustained ‘oo’s and ‘ah’s throughout, the well-known melody is underpinned by a delicate piano accompaniment, with an optional unaccompanied middle section.
“Still, still, still is an arrangement by Michael Higgins of the well-loved Austrian traditional carol. Its most obvious attraction for smaller choirs with fewer men is that the voices are divided three ways – S, A, Bar – but this is by no means its only merit. The textures and harmonies all contribute to a sense of space and light, and the piano accompaniment gently illustrates the stillness that the text demands.”
Jeremy Jackman, Choir & Organ, August 2021
SS or unison upper voices and piano
Duration: 1.5 minutes | Difficulty: Very Easy – Easy
With a text by Eugene Field, Higgins’ charming melodies gently rock in compound time and start off in unison before growing into a simple two-part texture. The voices are supported by a busy piano part that mimic the glimmer of the star. This accessible, lively setting is also suitable for SA.
“Michael Higgins evokes the star with a busy, glittering piano part. Voices sing an easily learnt melody in unison and optionally two-part harmony and as a canon. The text, by the 19th-century American ‘poet of childhood’ Eugene Field, may seem a bit twee nowadays, but the piece could work well in a school Christmas concert.”
James L. Montgomery, Sunday by Sunday (RSCM), September 2022
SSA and piano or harp
Duration: 3 minutes | Difficulty: Very Easy – Easy
Higgins’s arrangement of Away in a manger is beautiful and delicate. The first verse is taken by unison upper voices; the second is a cappella, with an optional soloist or small group and sustained ‘ooh’s; and the last verse features fresh, homophonic harmonies. The accompaniment twinkles gently around the voices, contributing towards the magical character of the arrangement.
“I was immediately touched by the exceptionally fine and tender setting of Away in a manger by Michael Higgins. The lilting piano or harp part floats over arpeggio figures with occasional touches of a gently placed seventh and ends with a haunting two-octave unison. […] This beautifully crafted piece would work so well with young singers as well as adult choirs.”
Joy Hill, Choir & Organ, August 2021
SATB and piano or harp
Duration: 3 minutes | Difficulty: Very Easy – Easy
Higgins’s arrangement of Away in a manger is beautiful and delicate. The first verse is taken by unison upper voices; the second is a cappella, with an optional soloist or small group and sustained ‘ooh’s; and the last verse features fresh, homophonic harmonies. The accompaniment twinkles gently around the voices, contributing towards the magical character of the arrangement.
“I was immediately touched by the exceptionally fine and tender setting of Away in a manger by Michael Higgins. The lilting piano or harp part floats over arpeggio figures with occasional touches of a gently placed seventh and ends with a haunting two-octave unison. […] This beautifully crafted piece would work so well with young singers as well as adult choirs.”
Joy Hill, Choir & Organ, August 2021
for SSSSAATBB unaccompanied
Duration: 3 minutes | Difficulty: Moderately Difficult
In this haunting arrangement of the well-known carol, Higgins creates a mystical soundscape by layering a single motif in a four-part soprano canon. These repetitions echo throughout and support the various textures explored in each verse, producing a dramatic and atmospheric setting of the Basque carol. Suitable for chamber and concert choir.
“It must be hard to think of anything original to do with The Angel Gabriel but Higgins has managed it with sophisticated textures contributing to an imaginative arrangement.”
John Quinn, MusicWeb International
