Product Description
Bell Carol Fantasy
Based on the choral piece Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells) by Mykola Leontovych, this full orchestra version brings to life the spirit of this favorite carol. Perfect holiday concert closer!
Instrumentation
Piccolo
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets in B-flat
2 Bassoons
4 Horns
2 Trumpets (B-flat)
3 Trombones
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion: Snare Drum, Cymbal, Triangle
Strings
Duration: 5 Minutes
When an orchestra player expressed interest in playing "Carol of the Bells" as part of a fun December rehearsal, I checked out what arrangements already existed. To me, they all seemed too simple and repetitive, so I set about writing my own. I discovered that the familiar carol has its roots in a traditional folk chant about a swallow bringing a New Years message of a plentiful new year, and the title comes from the Ukrainian word for "bountiful".
I decided to emphasize the sense of bountiful and I open this arrangement with the familiar bell tune now played slowly and elongated by the low, autumnal clarinets. I let this new "theme of abundance" build and fill out colorfully among the whole orchestra before fading away. The flutes offer a suggestion of birds passing in gentle flight. This theme soon becomes recognizable as the well-known bell motif as the piece launches into the familiar carol tune. To close out the work I bring out the dance energy of the cross rhythms and counter melodies. The work ends in a flourish of high energy and optimism for the New Year.
SCORE and PARTS
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.