For On This Day, A Child Is Born
For On This Day,
A Child Is Born
Jeremy Bell
For On This Day, A Child Is Born is a medley of three different Christmas Carols. Featuring Carol of the Bells, Greensleeves, and We Three Kings, the piece interweaves the melody of each piece into in subsequent section, creating a Christmas Carol mash-up. The piece begins quietly with the Glockenspiel playing the Carol of the Bells motive when the bells and brass enter, the rest of the ensemble gradually is introduced. As the first section builds to a climax it segues into Greensleeves.
As Greensleeves comes to a close, the melody is transferred to the low brass and woodwinds in a warm chorale-style and finishes with a beautiful restatement of the melody with an unaccompanied Alto Saxophone solo. The final carol features a unique version of We Three Kings, that uses the harmonic minor scale to give it a more Middle-Eastern sound. After a key change to G minor, the full ensemble plays at forte as the piece begins to come to a close, finishing with melodic ideas from the previous carols and concluding with the Carol of the Bells motive that starts the piece.
For On This Day, A Child Is Born is available for purchase through Alfred Music Publishing and was selected as one of J.W. Pepper's Editor's Choice.