Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
Music and Lyrics by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells; Arranged by Elena Fortin
This beautiful Christmas piece with music and lyrics by Mel Torme and Robert Wells is a popular one! The beautiful melody raises interesting possibilities for harmonies and arranging. So many legendary performers have recorded this one–I think one of my childhood favourites is the smooth version by Nat King Cole.
Usually if you name this Christmas Carol by the title “The Christmas Song”, people think they don’t know it. But as soon as you say, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” you get instant recognition. The lyrics always make me think about the good things that Christmas brings!
About the arrangement
The arrangement is an advanced Piano solo. Some of the challenges in the song include fast, jazzy runs, two-against-three rhythms, playing expressively and with rubato, and I’ve thrown in some challenging chords too! (I like to describe rubato as an elastic tempo–you can bend and stretch it where you feel it needs it!)
The piece has a lot of jazzy flourishes that are pattern-based. Unlock the pattern and away you go! Make sure that you use both hands to do the jazzy runs on the last page–and try to figure out what chords they are to make it easier to play these flourishes quickly and lightly.
Now and then I will hop on Google and see if any new videos have popped up with my name on it. (I love that people buy my music and love it enough to memorize it and post a video)! Here is a link to a YouTube video of the lovely Jeanne Costello. She did a great job learning, memorizing, and then posting my arrangement.
Video Performance
Purchase Information
Clicking on the link below will bring you to a new site: Sheet Music Plus. This arrangement is under copyright with the ArrangeMe program by Hal Leonard.
Sheet Music Plus – The Christmas Song
Sheet Music Sample
