Product Description
History:
Silent Night ("Stille Nacht" in German) was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, a village in the Austrian Empire on the Salzach river in present-day Austria. A young Catholic priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, he had written the poem "Stille Nacht" in 1816 at Mariapfarr, the hometown of his father in the Salzburg Lungau region, where Joseph had worked as an assistant priest. The poem he wrote are the words that everyone knows today.
The music and melody that accompany the words was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, a schoolmaster and organist in the nearby village of Arnsdorf, now part of Lamprechtshausen. On Christmas Eve 1818, Mohr brought the words he had written to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for that night's mass, after some river flooding had possibly damaged the church organ. And so that is how the Silent Night we all know and love came to be!
About:
The arrangement presented in this edition is for solo guitar in Fingerstyle/Classical guitar style for the Intermediate Student in Notation, Notation & TAB, and Chords. The score remains faithful to the original melody but with some additions and changes:
The piece is in the G tuning (D-G-D-G-B-E) with the 6th string tuned to a D and the 5th string tuned to a G. Given the key of G major, this makes the chords really ring and resonate so beautifully under the melody. Note: If there are enough requests, I will consider releasing a regular tuning version in the future. The regular tuning is nice, but lacks the fullness of this one.
The 3/4 meter is used (over the original 6/8) for ease of reading/counting for the students. The 3/4 meter is also better suited for the piece's peaceful mood than 6/8.
The piece is in a variation form to make each repeat of the theme interesting and fun. The theme is first harmonized in a pure chordal style, unfolding like a meditation with the beautiful melody emerging out of the chords. The theme is then repeated but in an arpeggiated/scalar fashion and with a more modern feeling-the harmony is slightly changed to include some minor chords, bringing contrast between the two sections.
The second section repeats twice and features some Ossia(s) (optional measures) aimed at the slightly more advanced guitarist (for extra added value). Less experienced guitarists may safely avoid these without making the piece any less interesting. These optional passages add variety with harmonics (in the right hand) and a small harmonic change; adding a diminished chord. The piece ends very evocatively...
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The arrangement is as idiomatic as can be for the guitar. No details have been left out and the score is made with lots of care.
This piece is a perfect choice for early intermediate and intermediate guitarists, and especially for students that are playing in a Christmas recital. The score includes Notation, Notation & Tablature and Chords!
Great Versatility : Notation (by itself), Notation & Tablature and Chords included! (Note: The Chord Charts provided are using the regular tuning and not the G tuning as it didn't really make sense to show the chords charts in the G tuning)
Faithful to the original, but with small changes that bring big improvements and variety. The G guitar tuning makes the piece resonate beautifully on the instrument!
This version is arranged for a "Fingerstyle/Classical" type of playing!
Features two renditions of the theme and also optional passages for more contrast!
For more Christmas music for guitar (Jingle Bells, Patapan, Holly Jolly Christmas, etc...) please check my
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.