Handbell - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.953721 Composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, George Frideric Handel, and and John Francis Wade. Arranged by G. R. Adkison. Christian,Sacred. Score. 5 pages. Gary Ray Adkison #13523. Published by Gary Ray Adkison (A0.953721). Joy, Ye Faithful, in This Night is a 78 measure arrangement for 4-5 octave handbell choir. It also utilizes OPTIONAL 2 octaves of handchimes . It is a medley of the Christmas carols: Joy to the World, Silent Night and O Come, All Ye Faithful. It starts out, joyfully, at a strong dynamic level, with Joy to the World. Then, it becomes soft for Silent Night, going into a CHORUS of O Come, All Ye Faithful that grows in volume to double forte, at which time the verse portion of O come, All Ye Faithful starts. At the next chorus, the dynamic progression is repeated, until the final chorus becomes triple forte at the very end. The handchimes are used simultaneously with handbells during Silent Night, but handbells can be substituted for the handchimes. That section is very slow and laid back, with its strong point being more exotic chords than the traditional carol. The first and last sections of the arrangement are faster (and louder), both with surprise key changes. The last section also features very full chords, in places, starting with the verse of O Come, All Ye Faithful. I would think that this is probably a level 2+ arrangement in difficulty---mostly because of the 16th notes in Joy to the World. The audio clip provided is in a piano voice (patch) but suffices to demonstrate how the arrangement is generally meant to sound.
