Joy to the World: 10 Solo Piano Settings for Advent and Christmas (Sacred Performer Collections)

My experience: I am not a professional pianist, but I can manage many advanced hymn pieces. The difficulty level is subjective. With piano, the word "Advanced" can mean many things. It felt, in this book, the hard parts involved swiftness of the left/right hand, lots of 16th notes, playing melody with the left hand, changing the traditional timing of songs, and notes above (off) the staff. If those things had added some charm or beauty or interest, I would've worked to learn them. As it was, I only knew half the songs, and the other 5 were unappealing. Actually, the familiar carols were a disappointment; I think I could sit down and make up prettier versions. Which may be part of my dissatisfaction. I can read music and play by ear, and while the hymns I've arranged will never be seen in a book, I consider them unique yet complimentary to the original melodies.These arrangements: With these carols, I sometimes felt they were taken from a hymnal and simply changed to 8th notes to flow better. The instructions to play "Soulfully" and such indicated strange timing (not my strong suit). I didn't like the songs I didn't know--sometimes an arrangement can make you love an unknown song, but not here, not for me. Several songs had repeated 'verses' (where they use the same chording and everything but raise or lower it--as if that makes it better?); this served only to prolong a song instead of add variety. A couple songs were easier to play: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" wasn't as difficult but even its haunting melody couldn't salvage this mediocre rendition. Throughout the book, I didn't sense emotion or power; there were some runs, key changes, varied rhythms, etc., but they didn't excite me.The layout: The book is staple-bound, with songs extending from page to page (no blank pages). The front index lists the 10 titles. There are no estimated performance times, but there are suggested playing instructions (e.g., Reflectively).My final word: I have enjoyed Lloyd Larson's arrangements for years and look for his name. Many of my favorite hymn arrangements are by him. But this Christmas compilation--he's done better.

Enjoyable pieces with harmonies that support the melody, and that make musical sense. Loved it.

The arrangement in this book of AWAY IN A MANGER is fantastic--quite possibly the best I have of this classic Christmas tune. Lloyd Larson also managed to turn a rather unmelodic tune--WE THREE KINGS OF ORIENT ARE---into something wonderful. I never have liked that carol, but this arrangement will forever remain in my 5-star folder. Both of these received many compliments when I played them for services.THE VIRGIN MARY HAD A BABY BOY is very odd, but then again, that's a pretty odd song in itself. WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED THEIR FLOCKS was another unusual and beautiful arrangment, although not one I used this year. I am sure I will next year, though. JOY TO THE WORLD has promise as well.The book is rated as Advanced Piano, but I was able to sight read the entire book at performance level. I would classify it more as Intermediate. Nothing in the book took me more than one time through to prepare. I would rate this equivalent to Mark Hayes' arrangements for Intermediate Pianists.

These are pleasant, playable arrangements, and my copy arrived earlier than promised.

I bought this for a gift for a friend as I enjoy my own so much. Beautiful arrangements and challenging for me. I am no pro by any means, but even a more advanced player can have fun with this. And then they could actually play it up to tempo, which is something I am not good enough to do yet!

Arrived in like-new condition. I am looking forward to learning these songs. They are marked Advanced Piano. Agree they are not as hard as Mark Hayes Advanced. They are beautiful arrangements!

I have many books of Christmas piano music and this will be one of my favorites. I played through the music as soon as I received it this morning and am delighted to find that I enjoyed every song. Each piece has been arranged in a unique style to enhance the familiar melodies.

I played through this book when I received it, but since it was after Christmas, probably won't get back to it until after Thanksgiving. I do think the arrangements are well written and tasteful and easy enough to prepare. I sightread through most of it and feel that when I play them at church they will be pleasing to the ears of the listeners. A nice addition to my collection.