Music for Christmas

[iy45]

Sorry to intrude on Advent, but - like in Holy Week - church musicians need to be a bit ahead of the calendar.

 

I wanted to share a little trick I figured out a few years ago for a Carol Service (or similar) postlude. HW Gray publish a volume of "Seven Trios on Christmas Hymns" by David Lasky. I find all of them useful, though some are based on the tunes used in the USA and the Caribbean rather than the ones we're used to in the UK. However, the third of them is a trio on the regular tune to "Hark The Herald angels sing". Ignore the composers suggested registration and play the left hand on the biggest available reed, with right hand and pedal to balance. At the end, go straight into David Willcocks' Postlude on the same tune, starting at bar 9.

 

IMHO it works really well.

 

Best wishes to all.

 

Ian