Piano Quartet,String Ensemble Cello,Piano,Viola,Violin - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1104206 Composed by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. and Enrique Granados. Arranged by John A. Dempsey. Christian,Christmas,Holiday,Sacred,Traditional. Score and parts. 22 pages. John A. Dempsey #707422. Published by John A. Dempsey (A0.1104206). This piano quartet for violin, viola, cello and piano of the warm, evocative Christmas carol We Three Kings of Orient Are follows a musical path that merges with the wintry road leading to Enrique Granados' delicately beautiful piece Oriental.  A bit of holiday serendipity!  Recommended for Christmas pageants, plays and programs, holiday recitals and Christmas concerts as well as traditional Christmas church services and other seasonal worship events, as a prelude, postlude, an offertory, interlude, Christmas play overture, silent prayer accompaniment and special music.  18 pages of music (that includes separate two-page parts for violin, viola and cello).  Concert Key: A minor     We three kings of Orient are: bearing gifts we traverse afar     Field and fountain, moor and mountain - following yonder star.     O star of wonder, star of night; star with royal beauty bright,     Westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to Thy perfect light.

Piano Quartet,String Ensemble Cello,Piano,Viola,Violin - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.612672 Composed by Traditional French Carol. Arranged by John A. Dempsey. Christian,Christmas,Holiday,Sacred,Traditional. Score and parts. 22 pages. John A. Dempsey #221864. Published by John A. Dempsey (A0.612672). Arranged as a lively piano quartet for violin, viola, cello and piano, this exultant arrangement of a traditional French Christmas carol contains variation in all parts as well as dynamic shading, embellishments and incidental music by Grieg, all adding to the joyful atmosphere of praise and thanksgiving.  Gloria in excelsis Deo is Latin for Glory to God in the Highest.  Recommended for Christmas plays, pageants and programs, holiday recitals and Christmas concerts as well as traditional Christmas church services and other seasonal worship events.  Suggested worship uses: prelude, postlude, offertory, interlude, Christmas play overture and special music.  Key: C major.  18 pages of music (that includes the score and separate two-page parts for violin, viola and cello).

Piano Quartet - Level 1 - Digital Download SKU: A0.548646 Composed by Wade. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Christmas. 8 pages. Jmsgu3 #3407471. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.548646). O Come, All Ye Faithful The traditional Adeste Fideles was arranged for a piano quartet ( piano, violin, viola & cello) featuring a thought-provoking re-harmonized final verse. O Come, All Ye Faithful is an English translation of the Latin Christmas carol Adeste Fideles. No one knows exactly who wrote it. One theory holds that King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656) wrote it. Another view says John F. Wade or John Reading wrote it. Nowadays, we usually attribute it to John Wade. It seems like Stonyhurst College in Lancashire owns the oldest manuscript. It is from the year 1751. Nevertheless, the O Come All Ye Faithful: Piano Quartet version has a re-harmonized final verse for more energy and drive. Lyrics Frederick Oakeley, a Catholic priest in 1841, wrote the English translation. This translation is probably the most common in English-speaking states. To begin with, the hymn had only four verses. Later, the verses grew to eight. Music directors often cut various verses because otherwise, the song goes too long. Some believe that St. Bonaventure wrote the first Latin lyrics. Others hold that King John IV of Portugal is responsible. Yet even others think the Cistercian monks wrote them. King John IV His subjects called King John IV of Portugal The Musician King. He became king in 1640. In addition to performing the duties of a king, he composed and wrote as a music journalist. King John built an extensive music library. Unfortunately, the massive earthquake in Lisbon ruined the library in 1755. In addition to making his library, the king started a Music School that produced many accomplished musicians. The king also worked diligently to get instrumental music approved by the Vatican for use in his churches. Aside from his authorship of Adeste Fideles, he is famous for another popular choral setting of the Crux Fidelis, a prevalent Lenten hymn. Performance in Context Verses are sometimes left out because all eight verses would take too long to perform. More to the point, though, some of the poems may be unsuitable for whatever church calendar they are intended. The eighth verse deals with the Epiphany, so it makes sense to sing this on Epiphany Sunday but not on other Sundays. Similarly, poems are used for whether the event is Midnight Mass or regular daytime Mass.  

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.   

Piano Quartet,String Ensemble - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.552062 Composed by Johann Pachelbel. Arranged by James M. Guthrie. Baroque,Instructional,Standards,Wedding. Score and parts. 17 pages. Jmsgu3 #6104333. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.552062). Score: 9 pages.Duration: ca. 4:40. The famous Pachelbel Canon arranged for Piano Quartet. A great choice for weddings & receptions! Pachelbel's Canon Pachelbel's Canon is, in fact, the traditional title for a composition by the German composer Johann Pachelbel. Other names for the work include namely: Canon and Gigue for 3 violins and basso continuo, Canon and Gigue in D, and of course Canon in D. We do not know when or why in particular it was written. The oldest copy is surprisingly from the 19th century. It is important to realize that it was a common routine for organists to practice improvisation on the chord progression underlying the canon. Pachelbel originally scored the Canon notably for three violins and continuo. He also in fact paired the Canon with a gigue. The movements are homotonal, to clarify, both are in the key of D major. History In due time, Pachelbel's Canon went out of style and remained in virtual oblivion for centuries. The Jean-François Paillard chamber orchestra, however, recorded an arrangement of it in 1968. As a result, it gained approval. Many ensembles began likewise to record the piece in the 1970s and by the 1980s became ubiquitous as background music. From the 1970s to the early 2000s, pop songs correspondingly used elements of the piece. The chord progression, in particular, was used this way. Also, since the 1980s, it has been not only wildly popular for weddings, but also for funeral ceremonies in the USA and Europe. Pachelbel Background Johann Pachelbel (1653 –1706) was a German composer, as well as an organist. He was furthermore instrumental in bringing the south German organ school to its apex. He wrote a large body of music, both sacred and, equally important, secular. In particular, he uniquely helped develop the chorale prelude and fugue. For this, he has, in fact, earned a rightful place in the company of the most significant composers of the mid-Baroque period. Works Pachelbel's music was certainly popular. With this in mind, he also consequently had many pupils. His music expressly developed into a model for south German composers. Nowadays, Pachelbel is most famous, particularly for the Canon in D, as well as the F minor Chaconne, the Toccata in E minor, and of course the Hexachordum Apollinis, a set of variations for the keyboard. Influences Johann Jakob Froberger and Johann Caspar Kerll were south German composers who significantly influenced Pachelbel. Furthermore, he was especially influenced by Italians such as Frescobaldi and Poglietti. He frequently preferred an articulate, simple contrapuntal style that highlighted clarity. His music is markedly less extravagant and harmonically adventurous than that of Dieterich Buxtehude. However, as a point often overlooked, like Buxtehude, Pachelbel experimented with different instrumental combinations in his chamber music. Legacy All in all, Pachelbel was most famous as a composer for the keyboard. He composed over two hundred pieces specifically for the instrument. Pachelbel was also surprisingly a prolific composer of vocal music. All in all, about a hundred vocal works survive, including 40 or so large-scale works.