Piano Quartet - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.548651 Composed by James Pierpont. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Christmas. 17 pages. Jmsgu3 #3408091. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.548651). A unique arrangement of Jingle Bells arranged for a piano quartet (piano, violin, viola, cello, and optional sleigh bells). The first verses are based on the traditional version. After an abrupt modulation, the third verse explores an augmentation canon, while the viola pursues a wild sleigh ride passage. Meanwhile, the tune is fragmented and sequenced in the piano. It gets wild but straightens out for the final refrain. Score: 7 pg, 68 ms. String parts: 2 pg. Sleighbell part: 1 pg. Piano part: 3 pg. Jingle Bells is perhaps the most famous song in American music history. James L. Pierpont published the song One Horse Open Sleigh in the late 1850s. 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 gained 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 jingle the ice in their glasses. A sleigh ride allowed couples 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 accentuate the rhythm during the song's chorus.   

Cello,Piano,Viola,Violin - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.548706 Composed by Adam. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Christmas,Standards. 18 pages. Jmsgu3 #3411563. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.548706). Cantique de Noël The French composer Adolphe Adam was already famous as a composer of many successful ballets and operas. Then, in the 1840s, he wrote his most famous work - O Holy Night. The original song title was Minuit Chretiens or Cantique de Noël.  Placide Cappeau provided the original song lyrics. The song was first performed in Roquemaure by the opera singer Emily Laurey at midnight mass in 1847. It became trendy among the French, much like Silent Night was famous elsewhere. In 1850, John S. Dwight, a Unitarian minister and music teacher, translated the song into English.   Adolphe Adam Adam studied organ and composition at the Paris Conservatoire in his younger years. He also played the timpani in the Conservatoire orchestra. Adam used his savings and borrowed money to open a new opera house - the fourth opera house in Paris in 1847. Unfortunately, the Revolution of 1848 forced him to close. He taught composition at the Paris Conservatoire from 1849 until he died in 1856. Placide Cappeau The poet Cappeau was an advocate of the French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire. Voltaire was renowned for criticizing the Catholic church, religious intolerance, and dogma in general. Consequently, Cappeau made the Redeemer figure in his song a kind of reformer of injustices, particularly the problem of original sin. To begin with, people recognized Cappeau's theology as eccentric, probably even doubtful. Theology In the earlier form of Minuit, the Christ figure descends to intervene with His Father's plan to punish humanity. Traditional doctrine pronounces that Christ came from love, not to intervene. This version also declares that Christ appeared to delete the original sin of Adam. Cappeau removed this part from his poem years later because he didn't believe it. He preferred to portray Christ as the reformer of disparity and unfairness. Before long, the writer/politician Alphonse de Lamartine called the Minuit the Marseillaise of religion. Most French churchmen agreed with this idea but did not consider it a tribute.    

Piano Quartet - Level 1 - Digital Download SKU: A0.548633 Composed by Gruber. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Christmas. 11 pages. Jmsgu3 #3405403. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.548633). Silent Night for piano quartet. The final verse features a surprise re-harmonization of the melody.  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.