Christmas Carols

Description

Christmas Carols

Christmas melodies of the British Isles for Hümmelchen, Dudey and many other instruments

for singing and playing compiled by Hermann Rieth
with illustrations by Georg Bildstein

A collection of sheet music with Christmas music from England for all Hümmelchen and Dudey players and many other instruments.

Christmas Carols are a rich tradition in the folklore of the British Isles and are still very much alive during the Christmas season. Origins from pre-Christian times continue to be cultivated and are sometimes associated with Christian customs.

The author of this collection was inspired by Advent ‘Carol Singing’ among colleagues. As a bagpipe and Gemshorn player, it was tempting for him to transpose the beautiful melodies that use the range of a ninth and put them into a two-part form for singing and playing. And since the songs are easy to play with recorders or other instruments, they form a fund for making music at school.

For hummelchen, gemshorns, recorders, cornamuses, and krummhorns, it is noted at the beginning of each song in the upper left-hand corner in which register the instruments can be placed with the voices.

The Author:

Hermann Rieth had recorder lessons with his mother as a child. Later, recorder teaching and playing became an essential balance during his studies (mathematics and physics for higher teaching) and training period as a hand weaver. As a teacher of handicrafts, he continued this passion in making music with students. With getting to know the Hümmelchen and Dudeys a new intensification began: learning to play the bagpipes, attending courses and making a lot of music. Soon he and a friend began organizing the Schwäbisch Haller Sackpfeifertage. In the process, he developed an interest in early music, a preoccupation with old prints and manuscripts, and an extensive collection of pieces for Hümmelchen and Dudey was formed. The occupation with the repertoire of this booklet began already in school days with the program “Hello Folk”, which Walli Whyton hosted for the English soldier station. There, sounds of folk rock and Anglo-Saxon customs were heard alongside familiar ones. Some examples are included here at the end.

The songs:

•     We Wish You a Merry Christmas
•     Christ Was Born
•     I Saw a Maiden
•     I Saw Three Ships
•     On Christmas Night
•     Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day
•     Hark. The Herald Angels Sing
•     God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
•     O Little Town of Bethlehem
•     Child in the Manger
•     Past Three o’clock
•     While Shepherds Watched
•     Winds through the Olive Trees
•     The Twelve Days of Christmas
•     Holy Christmas on the Living
•     Little Jack Horner
•     Please to See the King
•     Cutty Wren
•     Stroud Wassail
•     Here We Come A-wassailing
•     The Gower Wassail
•     Gloucestershire Wassailer’s Song
•     The Boar’s Head
•     Border Morris