From mid-December through early January, choirs singing Christmas carols played on the family stereo as I waited for Santa, strung cranberries, assisted in baking ginger bread cookies, hung ornaments at random on our Christmas tree, opened presents, or hung out in my room. In high school and college, I sang arrangements of carols in styles ranging from contemporary classical to barbershop.

Shortly after my Weimaraner guide dog and I moved into a shoe-box sized New York City apartment, I attended a presentation during which I heard an a capella four-part arrangement of “The Christmas Song.”

“Cool,” I thought. “I can do that.”

So beginning in 1984, I began writing three funky four-part vocal arrangements of Christmas carols, and recorded them using a four-track cassette recorder, one track per vocal part. I mixed them onto cassettes, and used them as Christmas cards. Over the next 15 years, these arrangements became more sophisticated and experimental.

In the late 1990s, Peter Schickele (better known as P. D. Q. Bach), spoke of his admiration of composers who set familiar Christmas carol lyrics to different melodies.

“Cool,” I thought. “I can do that.”

“What do you mean?” my future wife, Lisa, asked when I talked to her about my history with Christmas carols as we sat together on a threadbare couch in my DC bachelor pad.

“You know the carol `We Three Kings of Orient Are?`” I asked. I sang a couple of phrases of the solemn, melancholy waltz. She hummed along. “I created a different melody that’s more bouncy and joyful. Do you want to hear it?”

She squeezed my hand, so I clicked on the carol and rejoined her on the couch as six voices and a synthesized harp filled the apartment.

“That was awesome!” she said when the tune ended. “Who sang the vocals?”

“Me.”

“Really! How?”

I explained that I would sing the melody on one track and then record the other parts while listening to the melody. “Would you like to hear more?”

“Yes!”

During the next 20 minutes, I played some of my arrangements: “How Brightly Shines the Morning Star” for brass and timpani; “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” for string quartet; “Jingle Bell Rock” arranged in the style of a Tchaikovsky waltz; “Holly Jolly Christmas” for brass band; “White Christmas” with a reggae feel; “Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming” for brass quintet; “Frosty the Snowman” arranged as a late 1950s rock tune; “Good King Wenceslas” for percussion ensemble; “Oh Christmas Tree” for marching band; and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” for steel drum band. Sudden silence fell as the last note died away.

“Are you all right?” I asked, sitting down and putting my arm around her.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Lisa half-whispered, putting her arm around me. “You’re amazing.”

As we sat silently on my threadbare couch with our arms around each other, I felt as if I were wrapped in waves of peaceful joy. I couldn’t believe that such a talented, caring woman would not just admire my accomplishments but love me for who I was and who I might become. For the first time, I really thought about what it might be like to move from a settled, secure space to unfamiliar surroundings where I would be responsible for supporting three kids who I hadn’t even met. Could I do it? Should I do it? All I knew was that she had given me the chance to explore love’s wonderful possibilities, and I wanted to continue the journey.

Since my black Lab guide dog and I moved into a rambling house in Columbia, Missouri to join Lisa, three stepkids, and an assortment of standard Poodles, I have composed new melodies for around a dozen carol lyrics and recorded them using a synthesizer and MIDI technology I bought in 2003. Four of these settings have been performed at the Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia.

To listen to a podcast featuring demos of some of these settings (including “We Three Kings”) and additional information about the origins of these settings, please visit

https://artparlor.pinecast.co/episode/73f6b8a1e05a4120/art-parlor-for-december-2020-presents-peter-altschul

I hope you can find some time to enjoy this music, and that it moves you to reflect upon these old carols in new ways.

For carols have a powerful way of carrying love.

Merry Christmas!