This year it’s going to be a very strange Christmas for most of us, but we have to make the best of it while remembering to stay safe. Here’s our musical Christmas greeting, featuring the sound of a carillon. If you’re wondering what a carillon is, there is some information in the video.
With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
In the Bleak Midwinter is a setting of a poem by Christina Rosetti (1830-94). The music is by Gustav Holst (1874-1934), who is best known as the composer of the orchestral suite The Planets. The sheet music can be downloaded below (underneath the video) or via the Sheet Music page.
This arrangement stays fairly close to Holst’s original setting for 4-part choir. A light touch on the sustaining pedal may be helpful in places, but be careful not to overdo the pedalling.
An arrangement of the traditional carol The Holly and the Ivy, in the key of G major. Sheet music can be downloaded below (underneath the video), or from the ‘Level D’ link on the Sheet music page.
This well-known traditional carol, which is often called Deck the Halls, needs no introduction. The free sheet music can be downloaded below (underneath the video) or via the Sheet Music page.
In this arrangement, both hands stay in position most of the time. But watch out for the right hand thumb-under in bar 11. Notice that all the notes in bars 11-12 can be found in the middle of the 2-octave scale of G major.
