The traditional round, 'Christmas is coming' is set over a charmingly goofy three-part scat choral accompaniment. Soprano I section, or a guest children's chorus, can sing the round. In 'A Christmas Alleluia,' Antiphonal choirs and a small unison chant group exchange alleluias, while the soloist sings the melody of this spiritual written for the Spelman College Choir in 1971. 'Ave Maria' has drones, chant fragments, and overlapping 'ora pro nobis' figures which evoke the sounds of a medieval convent. Within the deceptively simple three-part texture of the 'Three Noels,' the composer has marked the subtleties of speech rhythms with sophisticated melodies and harmonies. These understated settings will ask your singers to 'listen loudly.' The first and third movements feature alto solos.