Friday, July 23, 2010

O Little Town of Bethlehem Vocal Solo an American Christmas Carol by Phillips Brooks arr Mary Katherine May

O Little Town of Bethlehem
by Phillips Brooks (text) & Lewis Redner (tune)

arranged for Vocal Solo and Piano
by Mary Katherine May
of Quality Music and Books

My arrangement of O Little Town of Bethlehem was composed with my friend, Donald Nelson, a tenor, in mind as the one to sing this solo. And thus, it is dedicated to him. It is a bit unusual to use a 12/8 meter in arranging the Christmas hymn, yet the arpeggiated chords support the melody quite well.

For demonstration purposes I used oboe for the vocal part, and yet the piece also works nicely as a C-instrument solo.

I invite you to read the article I wrote about Phillips Brooks on another of my blogs, Hymn and Commentary.

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