Following on Volume 1 (Secular part songs, C7980) and Volume 2 (Sacred part songs, C8240), this is the third volume of this successful choral book series ROMANTIK a cappella with choral music from Europe of the so-called “long 19th century”, the time from 1789 to 1914.

Christmas as we celebrate it today evolved during this time and rapidly took hold throughout Europe. Not least because of this, a wealth of Advent and Christmas part songs were created in all regions of the continent in the 19th century, distinguished by a large variety of styles. From the folk-like strophic song to the concertante motet and uniting numerous composers from many countries in Europe, the two editors Michael Aschauer and Jan Schumacher have again made a fascinating, representative selection that offers amateur as well as chamber choirs a large pool of new repertoire.

Most of the more than 75 choral pieces are of easy to intermediate difficulty and many of the foreign language songs also include a singable German text in addition to the English lyrics. The editorial principles are the same as in the two previous volumes, and recordings of renowned choirs as well as audio pronunciation aids also support the rehearsal work here. Altogether, the third volume of ROMANTIK a cappella constitutes an indispensable source for every Advent and Christmas choral concert.