Just received my 2 Volumes of Christmas Carols for Unaccompanied Viola, today! 

These are definitely going to challenge me! 

Arranged by Dr. Paul Fehrenbach, he says:

The reason for this book is twofold: 1) to provide interesting and challenging arrangements of popular carols for violists to enjoy themselves and 2) provide violists with arrangements to perform throughout the holiday season. The arrangements are somewhat demanding but provide variations of these carols that should keep audiences involved as the melodies evolve. Since having a piano or guitar accompaniment to perform with it is not always feasible, these arrangements are designed to provide their own harmony throughout the song.

The accompaniments I have arranged for these songs are all in keeping with standard violin practice handed down since the 17th century.  Each song is arranged as a theme and variations, beginning with the melody harmonized with double-stops or left hand pizzicato, and progressing into more developed adaptations of the theme. The arrangements stay primarily in the first three positions with occasional harmonics and higher position work.

Each song has three or four variations and last between two to four minutes each. Violists are often asked to fill in between sections of a service or a program and these arrangements provide the musician with a number of choices that would fit the time constraints and the sentiment of the moment. 

Whew!  Got my work cut out for me, now! 

The Violin versions are great, too - I just choose the lower tones for my preference.

- Emily

Corelli's Christmas Concerto (1690's, but not published until 1714)

Its most famous movement is the final one, which features a pastorale that is a lullaby for the newborn Jesus (Interlude.hk).  Corelli, A. - Christmas Concerto Op 6 No. 8, The Last Movement, Pastorale - free sheet music for Violin, more available at 8Notes.com.

Corelli: 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, No. 8 - Musica Amphion ensemble. 

Corelli, Christmas concerto Op. 6 no. 8 - Play the Violin sheet music with Trevor Pinnock. 

LOVE THIS!

Little more digging into Early German Lutheran Composers & Christmastime music... cause it's just so beautiful!

Interesting article from 'BBC Music Magazine': Michael Praetorius: composer, organist, theorist, Renaissance man extraordinaire  

It’s surely no little irony that one of the most prolific composers of his age should be principally remembered – the toe-tapping dance card of Terpsichore aside – for a humble Christmastide chorale harmonisation of some dozen bars [Es ist ein Ros entsprungen].  

Michael Praetorius - Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen!  Play-along sheet music from Andea Scalia.  Print notation from IMSLP

I found an extremely wonderful album of Old German Christmas Songs (12th - 15th Century), 'Und unser lieben Frauen der traumet ihr ein traum'!  Some I recognize under a different name.  Recorded in 1982, the Carol names & origin date (if known) are listed in the video description, but no timestamps (I added start times below).  Es ist ein Ros entsprungen is included.  I like I can hear the melodies, they aren't heavy voicings. 

The title translates to a song: 

Our dear women's dream is a spiritual folk song that originated before 1602. It is about Our Lady (a title of Mary, the mother of Jesus) and the birth of her Son, and is therefore mostly sung as an Advent song.  (Wikiipedia)  

Start times album side 1:

1.) 0:49 - In dulci jubilo, 2.) 3:23 - Hodie Christus natus est, 3.) 4:25 - Und unser lieben frauen, 4.) 9:26 Es ist ein ros entsprungen, 5.) 11:35 - Maria durch ein Dornwald ging, 6.) 16:52 - In suria ain braiten hal  

Start times side 2: 

7.) 22:54 - Es kumpt ain schiff geladen, 8.) 24:59 - Christum wir sollen loben schon, 9.) 28:14 - Nu kom der heiden Heiland, 10.) 30:39 - Fons clara, 10.) 31:44 - Syt willekomen heirre Krist, 11.) 34:11 - Tagewise von Kristes geburt, 12.) 39:14 - Wihnaht lied, 13.) 42:03 - Eia felix Virgula 

...some of these Christmastime tunes were really unexpected, pretty wonderful!