Product Description
Jingle Bells arranged for viola & piano featuring a fancy 3rd verse. Jingle Bells is perhaps the most famous songs in American music history. James L. Pierpont published the song as "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the late 1850s. Since its introduction, people
began to insist that Pierpont wrote it for a Sunday school choir. However, it
seems unlikely that such a secular song would be considered appropriate during
that historical period for Sunday school.
Christmas Repertoire
Pierpont wrote the song for the Thanksgiving holidays, but
over time people began to think of it more as a Christmas song. Some choirs
adopted it as part of their Christmas repertoire in the 1860s and 1870s. Jingle
Bells was first recorded in 1889 on a wax cylinder.
Origins
No one knows
where Pierpont composed the song. One theory suggests he wrote it in Medford
Massachusetts in 1850. Sleigh races were certainly popular in 19th
Century Massachusetts. To this day, a commemorative placard appears in Medford
square claiming that it is the birthplace of Jingle Bells. Others suggest that
he wrote it in Savannah, Georgia where he was an organist and music director at
the Unitarian Church. This theory gains support from the copyright date of
1857. We know he was living in Savannah by then.
Traffic Signals
Horse-drawn sleighs are relatively quiet in the snow. Consequently,
horses were usually equipped with bell-laden straps so as to avoid accidents at
blind intersections. Sleigh drivers in 19th Century New England were
constantly vigilant, listening for the sounds of approaching horse-drawn
sleighs. The tune imitates the rhythm that the trotting horse bells produce.
Social
Context
Jingle Bells was sung as a drinking song at local revelries: during
the song folks would rhythmically jangle the ice in their glasses. A sleigh
ride gave couples an opportunity to be alone together. The term "Jingle bells" is a poetic descriptive adjective
referring specifically to the more accurate term sleigh bells. In many
arrangements, sleigh bells are used to accentuate the rhythm during the song chorus.
Register for free lifetime updates and revisions at www.jamesguthrie.com
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.