String Quartet, String Orchestra - Early Intermediate - Digital Download Composed by Various. Arranged by Colin Kirkpatrick. Christian, Sacred, Praise & Worship, Christmas. Score, Set of Parts. 61 pages. Published by Colin Kirkpatrick Publications

String Quartet Cello,String Quartet,Viola,Violin - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1491580

Composed by Traditional. Arranged by James M. Guthrie. Chamber,Christmas,Historic,Holiday,Traditional. 13 pages. Jmsgu3 #1068280. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.1491580).

Here We Come A-Wassailing is a traditional English Christmas carol with roots that likely extend back to the mid-19th century, if not earlier. The exact authorship of the carol is unknown. The song is associated with the tradition of wassailing, which involves going door-to-door singing in exchange for food and drink. This practice predates Christianity and was part of mid-winter celebrations. The term wassail originates from the Anglo-Saxon greeting waes hael, meaning be in good health. This greeting evolved into a toast, with one person saying was hail and another responding drinc hail while passing around a communal bowl of a drink made from mulled ale or mead, spices, and apples, known as wassail. Wassailing has two primary forms: one that occurs post-Christmas, often associated with Twelfth Night, and another that takes place before Christmas. The latter involves singing carols and sharing wassail from a bowl. At the same time, the former includes rituals to encourage fertility in orchards, such as singing to trees and offering cider-soaked toast. The carol Here We Come A-Wassailing has several variations, including Here We Come A-Caroling and Here We Come A-Christmasing, each with different lyrics but similar themes of merriment and well-wishing for the New Year.

String Quartet String Quartet - Digital Download

SKU: A0.548632

Composed by Gruber. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Christmas. 7 pages. Jmsgu3 #3400587. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.548632).

Silent Night arranged for string quartet with a re-harmonized final verse.

Silent Night

Origins

Father Joseph Mohr wrote the lyrics for a new Christmas Carol. He wanted the new carol for his Christmas Eve Mass. With only a couple of hours until the service, He asked organist and schoolteacher Franz Gruber to write a melody and simple accompaniment to accompany the lyrics. The result is probably the most famous Christmas carols – Silent Night.

First Performance

Perhaps because the organ was undergoing repairs or to ensure the accompaniment was easy enough, Mohr asked Gruber to write it for the guitar. Mohr played the guitar, and Mohr and Gruber gave the world premiere performance at the Christmas Eve Mass in 1818 at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf in Salzburg.

Original Score

Eventually, the original score became lost, and Mohr's name was largely forgotten.  Though the public initially recognized Gruber as the composer, many people began rumors that a more famous composer was responsible over time. Thus, they floated the names of Haydn, Mozart, and even Beethoven. Authorities eventually settled the matter when a manuscript in Mohr’s handwriting turned up in 1820. Consequently, we learn that Mohr wrote the lyrics in 1816, and Gruber composed the melody in 1818.

Popularity

Nonetheless, Silent Night is still very popular. Singers have performed this song in nearly every genre and multiple languages. Perhaps the most famous version is the one Bing Crosby crafted. This version is the third best-selling physical single recording in the history of recorded music. This recording was released in 1935 and sold at least 30 million copies.

Only two songs have ever sold more. Elton John released Candle in the Wind 1997 and sold 33 million copies. The record for most copies ever sold goes to Bing Crosby. He released White Christmas in 1942 and sold 50 million physical copies.

 

 

 

String Quartet Cello,String Quartet,Viola,Violin - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1312368

Composed by John Jacob Niles. Arranged by Joel Jacklich (ASCAP). Chamber,Christmas,Folk,Holiday,Traditional. 11 pages. Joel Jacklich #901221. Published by Joel Jacklich (A0.1312368).

I Wonder as I Wander by John Jacob Niles is here arranged by Joel Jacklich (ASCAP) for voice and string quartet.

� Wonder as I Wander nis a Christian folk hymn, typically performed as a Christmas carol, written by American folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles. The hymn has its origins in a song fragment collected by Niles on July 16, 1933.[1][2][3][4][5]

While in the town of Murphy in Appalachian North Carolina, Niles attended a fundraising meeting held by evangelicals who had been ordered out of town by the police.[1][5] In his unpublished autobiography, he wrote of hearing the song:

A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached to the automobile. She began to sing. Her clothes were unbelievable dirty and ragged, and she, too, was unwashed. Her ash-blond hair hung down in long skeins. ... But, best of all, she was beautiful, and in her untutored way, she could sing. She smiled as she sang, smiled rather sadly, and sang only a single line of a song.[2]

The girl, named Annie Morgan, repeated the fragment seven times in exchange for a quarter per performance, and Niles left with three lines of verse, a garbled fragment of melodic material—and a magnificent idea.[2][5] (In various accounts of this story, Niles hears between one and three lines of the song.[2][4][5][6]) Based on this fragment, Niles composed the version of I Wonder as I Wander that is known today, extending the melody to four lines and the lyrics to three stanzas.[2][3][5] His composition was completed on October 4, 1933.[2] Niles first performed the song on December 19, 1933, at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina.[2][6] It was originally published in Songs of the Hill Folk in 1934.[4][6]

References
1. Bradley, Ian. The Penguin Book of Carols. Penguin (1999), p148. ISBN 0-14-027526-6.
2. Pen, Ron. I Wonder as I Wander. A Kentucky Christmas (George Ella Lyon, editor). University Press of Kentucky (2003), p200–201. ISBN 0-8131-2279-1.
3. Studwell, William E. The Christmas Carol Reader. Haworth Press (1995), p111. ISBN 1-56024-974-9.
4. Emmons, Shirlee & Wilbur Watkin Lewis. Researching the Song: A Lexicon. Oxford University Press (2006), p242. ISBN 0-19-515202-6.
5. Niles, John Jacob. I Wonder as I Wander. Archived 2006-03-25 at the Wayback Machine John-Jacob-Niles.com.
6. Stulken, Marilyn K. With One Voice: Reference Companion. Augsburg Fortress (2000), p25. ISBN 0-8066-3843-5.

Program Notes from Wikipedia.