Christmas Carols 2022 — ep. 2

Here we come with the second episode of my Christmas Carols arrangement streak. It took me longer than expected to prepare the second song for a simple reason: the contacts I gathered for starting to print and distribute my scores started to answer positively! It’s going to happen! This means that, some time during 2023, you will start seeing my scores appearing in shops all around the world! Or, if you want to buy directly from me—which would be immensely appreciated—I will be able to ship worldwide at a very favourable rate! Stay tuned for that! I can’t wait to get this going!

Ah! … and there is a second BIG reason, which is a consequence of the first. While my editions already looked quite professional (I hope you agree!), they were not ready for being printed and distributed. First, look at a printed score of a major publisher that you have ready at hand: it will consist of the following elements:

• A cover (also known as “book jacket”) in a thicker paper all around the book. This I had to redesign from scratch in a new design that would be unique and that would also reflect the values of the Artistic Score Engraving brand. I made about ten different models before settling for one, and I hope you will like it.
• An inner cover, very similar to the outer one, but with a few more information about the editor, the layout name, etc … This comes in ordinary paper, so it needs to contain less coloured elements, ideally it should all come in Black and White.
• A copyright notice page including, if necessary, the ISMN code with which the edition has been registered. This will also be printed as a barcode in the fourth cover page.
• The inner content stays the same as before, with an optional preface and the musical part, but after that comes a promotional page, also known as “the Ad Page”, where the publisher lists the most relevant publications.

All of this had to be designed from scratch and took a considerable amount of time. The good thing is that, now, I have all the InDesign templates ready, and it will thus take much less time to create a new edition. Here is the cover of The Manger Throne for you to behold!

Please let me know what you think of it!

The Manger Throne

The second title of the Christmas Collection is, as just spoiled, The Manger Throne. This song was written between 1867 and 1871, on a text by William Chatterton Dix, who included this in his collection Four Joyful Hymns for Christmas Tide. The music, instead, is by Charles Steggall (1826—1905).

This title is offered in four variants: the original for SATB choir, then an arrangement by myself for High Voice and Piano, String Quartet, and Cello Quartet. The String Quartet version includes a part for third violin, in case a viola cannot be found.

To make it easier for you to find these pieces, I have grouped them in different products, according to their instrumentation. You can find all of them by clicking on the relevant link:

• SATB Choir: access it here.
• Voice and Piano: access it here.
• String Quartet: access it here.
• Cello Quartet: access it here.

Within each of these products, you will find a list of the songs available for that instrumentation. In the future, it will also be possible to buy a complete bundle of all of them.

What’s next?

A new song should come readily in the coming days!

Meanwhile, why don’t you share this article with your peers?

Did you know I have a mailing list? By joining it, you will get access to exclusive discounts, a monthly newsletter, and weekly gifts (yes, that means about 5 emails a month, I hope it is not too much!).

In case you are not already part of it, please consider joining now. An always up-to-date catalogue of all my products is available here.

Since this month, it is also possible to support me directly with my new ASE+ program, where with a monthly donation you can ensure that I will be able to keep creating these high-quality scores! Check it out here!

That’s it for today!

Thank you very much.

Michele