for mixed choir (SSAATTBB) & piano
Text: English (Nick Shrimpton)
Duration: 3'00''
Difficulty: 2/5
Use: Christmas


This comical version of the famous 12 days of Christmas song is a re-working of an arrangement made for Fritz Spiegl and the Spieglers by their former Musical Director, Robert Ordledge. The swing style and jazz harmonies make this the perfect encore for a Christmas concert or a great piece for a Christmas party. This work is also appears in the Concerts for Choirs volume Christmas in Blue.


Text
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me...


A half pint of lemon shandy
Two mugs of cider,
Three pale ales,
Four Cherry Bs,
Five tots of rum,
Six pints of porter,
Seven Dry Martinis,
Eight nips of whisky,
Nine stiff Camparis,
Ten gin and tonics,
Eleven double brandies,
Twelve pints of bitter...


Four prairie oysters,
Three Alka Seltzers,
Two packs of ice,
And a large pot of senna pod tea.


Nick Shrimpton


Robert Orledge
Robert Orledge was born in Bath and educated at Clare College, Cambridge (1965–71), where he gained his PhD. From 1971 onwards he lectured in music at Liverpool University, being awarded a Personal Chair in 1991 for his research into modern French music. He has written books on Fauré, Debussy, Satie and Koechlin and has published numerous articles and editions. All the while he acted as Music Director for Fritz Spiegl and the Spieglers, for whom he made many humorous choral arrangements for concerts and BBC broadcasts. He took early retirement in 2004 and now spends his time completing and orchestrating theatrical scores by Debussy, several of which have now been successfully performed in the UK and America.