Ring the bells

This joyful setting of a popular American Christmas hymn by Fanny J. Crosby (1820–1915) was written in 2014 for David Ogden and City of Bristol Choir. It is scored for SATB choir and piano. The music features a rhythmic impetus derived from alternating bars of 7/8 and 4/4 time. In this way, this piece is something of a sequel, albeit unwitting, to my previous setting of Deck the hall written for the same performers in 2007. I was keen to have four verses of text so I wrote an additional verse 3 to interpolate before Crosby’s final verse – as her first two stanzas spoke of “Christmas morn” and “Christmas day” I thought I could add a “Christmas night” verse! After the final verse we hear an extended coda consisting of a four-part round of a descending “ring the bells” motif supported by a notated acceleration in the accompaniment figuration towards the final triumphant “Christ is born today!”.
The music is also available scored for SATB and small orchestra (1,1,1,0-1,2,0,0-timp.perc.-str.).