Alfred Burt
Alfred Burt wrote fifteen Christmas carols whose clear, singable lines and warm four-part writing have made pieces such as Caroling, Caroling and Some Children See Him favourites far beyond the family cards for which they began.
A jazz trumpeter and arranger by trade, Burt set a fresh carol each year as a private Christmas greeting, first with his father and later with lyricist Wihla Hutson. The writing favours plain melody and close harmony over grandeur, so the songs sit as easily with a small choir as with flute and harp. Only late in his short career did the carols reach a wider public; Caroling, Caroling remains the one most often taken up on record.
Compositions by Alfred Burt appear on
A Golden Christmas: for Flute and Harp
Elizabeth Koch and Suzanne Handel. A superb collection of popular Christmas carols and songs, arranged for the charming combination of flute and harp.
O Come All Ye Faithful
A Melbourne choir under Faye Dumont, whose Christmas programme shows variety and finesse as part of its charter.