Christmas Tootie-Flooties! was originally written back in 1990, as a short medley of Xmas tunes for school instrumentalists - flute or recorder trio and piano.

As such it has been well received, but having recently re-arranged some other similarly-resourced pieces for wind or string instruments alone - i.e. without their piano part - I felt it might be an equally good idea to do the same here, and turn out a few versions for the commonest combinations I’ve written for before - Flute / Clarinet Choir, Wind / Brass Quintet, Saxophone Quartet.

Each arrangement is, however, individual - it’s not merely a copy - and hopefully makes best use of the respective instrumental ranges and timbres, by varying the concert key to suit.

As I wrote in my original programme note to the 1990 version: "Overall it is intended to be bright, lively and festive, with just a little calm and repose in the middle section, with Silent Night."

A Woodwind Trio – or any trio format, in fact – is always more of a challenge, because, with just three parts, once you’ve used one for the melody, and one for the bass-line, the third part is hard-pressed to provide good harmony on its own! More ingenuity is needed, and while some of the other arrangements are largely similar to each other, I feel that I have ‘gone to town’ a bit on this one, to provide interesting parts, with more of a challenge. I’m especially pleased that the bassoon part has far more than just a bass-line role here.

The Flute part can be played, unaltered by an Oboe, so next extra part is provided. As with all the other, newer versions, I have added an extra ’tune’ to the original Christmas Tootie-Flooties! medley. Following Silent Night, there’s now my late Mother’s favourite, In the Bleak Midwinter - Holst’s melody - just before the Wish you a Merry Xmas! ending.

The Christmas Medley for Piano Duet already included this, so it seemed only right to make it available for all the other versions and arrangements.