Product Description
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
NOEL CMD Trad. English Melody
arranged by Ken Litton (ASCAP)
Audio Demo/Accompaniment track
Also available:
Sheet Music Plus
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/it-came-upon-a-midnight-clear-22842289.html
Sheet Music Direct
https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1606059/Product.aspx
The text is the familiar hymn of Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810-1876), an American clergyman ministering for many years in Massachusetts. After a retirement due to health concerns, his second Christmas hymn dating from about 1849 was published in The Christian Register. Of it a fellow minister by the name of Morrison wrote, "I always feel that, however poor my Christmas sermon may be, the reading and singing of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear are enough to make up for all deficiencies.
Here the tune is NOEL (CMD). The arrangement begins in Eb moving up to F, followed by an expressive (optionally a cappella) section in Dm. After a brief return to F for the final stanza (with a descant limited to top space F) there is a subtle "surprise by joy" to Em and on to a singable ending in G, with options for second soprano.
The voicing range from unison to 2-part and on to 3 and 4 parts, but in a singable, approachable range for choirs of medium ability and only a hint of easily sung divisi.
The accompaniment is active but playable and the score suggests a harpsichord voice as the keyboard option. The style of the pieceas well as the mp3 instrumentationallude to a"basso continuo" optional part for cello, bassoon, or other C bass instrument, a separate medium difficulty part included.
And mp3 demo/slass accompaniment track is available separately.
All this from the places you go for the best in downloadable resources as well as via Hal Leonard InStore retailers.
Be sure to check out other titles from East of the Altar/Artist of Note, Inc.
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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.