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Silent Night and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen: Christmas Songs for String Quartet
Silent Night and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen: Christmas Songs for String Quartet
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Celebrate the holiday season with unique arrangements of two much-loved Christmas carols. “Silent Night” is a compilation of wintry night-related tunes, including passages by Mozart and Borodin. The Baroque/disco-rock arrangement of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” delivers solo opportunites and a fresh, alternative approach to a holiday favorite.
By Renata Bratt.
Published by String Letter Publishing
$12.99
Sheet Music
ABOUT THE MUSIC (Excerpted from the Performance Notes)
This arrangement, which could be titled “Silent Nights,” is a compilation of night-related tunes to go with the classic Christmas carol “Silent Night.” Winter time—with its short days and long nights—is an ideal time to reflect on the hours after sunset.
The pieces I have selected for inclusion in this quartet arrangement include the Christmas carol “Silent Night” as well as excerpts from “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music),” a serenade composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1787, and Alexander Borodin’s Nocturne (Night), the third movement from his String Quartet No. 2 (1881).
The melody of “Silent Night” was composed in 1818 by the German composer Franz Xaver Gruber for a Christmas Eve service at the Nikolaus-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria. Interestingly, it was originally performed with voice and guitar, but this arrangement has been modified for string quartet.
Click here to listen to a sample of "Silent Night."
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” is a very old English Christmas carol, though it wasn’t published until 1833. It is in the natural minor key (lowered third, sixth, and seventh degrees), and can be harmonized with or without the raised sixth and seventh. I have arranged the first part of this tune in late-Baroque style—think of Bach when you perform it—with a few stylistic twists to follow. The tune starts with the pickup to m. 5 in the inner voices, and is later distributed freely among all of the members of the string quartet. The quarter notes in this first
section should be played with a fairly marcato stroke. Notice that the tune is in cut-time—2/2 time. Make sure that both half-note beats of every measure are strong. Watch out for the dynamics.
Included in this arrangement is a rock section, which the cellist is responsible for starting in a faster tempo. The upper strings must stay with the cellist’s groove once the section starts. This section carries elements of disco and funk, too. Disco rock was popular in the 1970s and is a forerunner of techno music. The dance style originated in African-American and Hispanic communities, and the repeated rhythmic fragments used in the accompanying voices here are clearly related to the Afro-Cuban and West-African sound. Disco, and its twin influences of funk and soul, are also distinguished by driving rhythms in the bass. Make sure that all rhythms are performed cleanly and clearly. The accent marks should help bring out the strong rhythmic nature of this style.
This rock version of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” stays in the E minor pentatonic scale. Each instrument has the opportunity to solo if desired.
—Renata Bratt
Click here to listen to a sample of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen."
ABOUT THE ARRANGER
Renata Bratt is a founding member of the ASTA Alternative String Styles Advisory Committee. She teaches cello and beginning string orchestra in Santa Cruz, California. She holds a doctorate in music and is a former president of the Suzuki Music Association of California. She has taught classical styles, jazz improvisation, and fiddling at national string workshops for children and adults, including the Mark O’Connor String Conference, Alasdair Fraser’s camps, New Directions Cello Festival, the National Cello Institute, ASTA, MENC, and Suzuki institutes.
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