String Quartet String Quartet - Level 4 - Digital Download
SKU: A0.749235
By Slade. By James Lea, Jim Lea, and Neville Holder. Arranged by HELEN MARPLE-HORVAT. Contemporary. Score and parts. 15 pages. Helen Marple-Horvat #6134105. Published by Helen Marple-Horvat (A0.749235).
youtube.com/watch?v=b74tCHtcmFM
‘Merry Christmas Everybody' is a major hit in the UK, and the familiar song heralds the festive season with all the ‘feel good’ emotions that come with it. We hear it in shops, supermarkets, and radio stations all over the country for the weeks in the run up to the celebrations, as it is part of a popular compilation of hits. It was a Christmas number one in 1973 and stayed there for nine weeks. Although it was recorded in New York it is not so well known in the USA which is a surprise to me. I have always loved it because of the unusual chord progressions at the end of the Chorus, and because Noddy Holder is from the West Midlands where I was born and bred. We don’t have too many famous people from around there!
It is important to keep a steady tempo but it doesn’t need to be as fast as the original (120 bpm) However It *is* in the same key as the original and follows the structure exactly, so it may be possible to play along with it before coming to rehearsal, which is always helpful. It is useful to feel the syncopation that way. We planned to record this last March but that was before Lockdown!
The tune is shared between first violin, viola and cello. The second violinist needs to keep a rock steady pulse. Although it is suitable for a professional quartet to play, and the first violinist often plays the tune up an octave, I feel that it is easy enough for a quartet of Grade 5 ABRSM to play with a few modifications such as playing open strings. The cellist will need to be able to play in fourth position and to stretch for the F sharps on the C string, but feel free to change the octaves or use pizzicato in the bass part if it makes things easier.
The bowing is a guide only, based on the rehearsal with Capriccio Quartet, so all players should take as many bows as they need in order to feel comfortable. Enjoy playing the piece and send me any recordings on Facebook. I love to hear from people who have played my arrangements.
You can hear Capriccio Quartet play my other arrangements at the Youtube Channel, Helen Marple-Horvat Songwriter, Arranger, Composer, Capriccio Quartet. All but two are available from Sheet Music Plus.
