SKU: A0.548661

Jingle Bells arranged for tuba & piano. Easy & popular. Jingle Bells is perhaps the most famous songs in American music history. James L. Pierpont published the song as One Horse Open Sleigh in the late 1850’s. Since its introduction, people began to insist that Pierpont wrote it for a Sunday school choir. However, it seems unlikely that such a secular song would be considered appropriate during that historical period for Sunday school.

Christmas Repertoire

Pierpont wrote the song for the Thanksgiving holidays, but over time people began to think of it more as a Christmas song. Some choirs adopted it as part of their Christmas repertoire in the 1860s and 1870s. Jingle Bells was first recorded in 1889 on a wax cylinder.

Origins

No one knows where Pierpont composed the song. One theory suggests he wrote it in Medford Massachusetts in 1850. Sleigh races were certainly popular in 19th Century Massachusetts. To this day, a commemorative placard appears in Medford square claiming that it is the birthplace of Jingle Bells. Others suggest that he wrote it in Savannah, Georgia where he was an organist and music director at the Unitarian Church. This theory gains support from the copyright date of 1857. We know he was living in Savannah by then.

Traffic Signals

Horse-drawn sleighs are relatively quiet in the snow. Consequently, horses were usually equipped with bell-laden straps so as to avoid accidents at blind intersections. Sleigh drivers in 19th Century New England were constantly vigilant, listening for the sounds of approaching horse-drawn sleighs. The tune imitates the rhythm that the trotting horse bells produce.

Social Context

Jingle Bells was sung as a drinking song at local revelries: during the song folks would rhythmically jangle the ice in their glasses. A sleigh ride gave couples an opportunity to be alone together. The term Jingle bells is a poetic descriptive adjective referring specifically to the more accurate term sleigh bells. In many arrangements, sleigh bells are used to accentuate the rhythm during the song chorus.

 Register for free lifetime updates and revisions at www.jamesguthrie.com

SKU: A0.548481

Traditional Christmas song arranged for Tuba and Piano. Third verse features new harmony. Score: 2 pg. Part: 1 pg.

Away in a Manger

Away in a Manger is a popular Christmas song published originally sometime in the later 19th century and performed throughout the world. In England, it is considered one of the two most popular carols of all time; a 1996 poll ranked it as a tie for second place. To begin with, many thought it was written by Martin Luther, but now the song is considered to be absolutely American. The most common musical arrangements are by William Kirkpatrick (1895) and James R. Murray (1887). The melody was first published, as Luther's Cradle Hymn, by James R. Murray. Then, came a confusing series of explanations about how Martin Luther wrote the song. Murray even went so far as to suggest that Luther wrote it for his children. As a result, the song has become known as simply Mueller. Nobody knows who this Mueller actually is, but the name stuck.

Popularity

By the 1880’s the cradle song was being performed in church. By the 1990’s the song was becoming the most popular Christmas song of all time. It was sung in school, in church, and at home by nearly everyone.

Other musical settings

The first musical setting published with the lyrics appeared in the Little Children's Book for Schools and Families (1885). The title was Away in a Manger. This edition is the first one not to attribute the song to Martin Luther. Charles H. Gabriel was the first arranger to present the third verse. He also composed and published a large number of different arrangements of the song. In one of his settings, he supplies a chorus for each verse with asleep sung in canon. Another prevalent preparation uses the lyrics to the melody Flow Gently, Sweet Afton. Yet another arrangement uses the lyrics to an old Normandy carol.  Register for free lifetime updates and revisions of this product at www.jamesguthrie.com