The First Noel

General Info

Arranger: Chris Brooks
Year: 2016
Publisher: Row-Loff Productions
Series: Icesicles!
Duration: 00:02:43

Instrumentation

Player 1: Glockenspiel
Player 2: Vibraphone
Player 3: Marimba
Player 4: Marimba & Sleigh Bells
Player 5: Djembes / Congas
Player 6: Floor Tom & Timpani

Performance Notes

This arrangement starts with a middle eastern hand drum/floor tom/vibes drone groove that should trick the listener a bit. The floor tom needs to be tuned to a pitch that doesn’t fight the Bb tonal center in the mallet instruments. Hand drums are preferably small & large djembes (on a stand), but congas will work fine as well. The hand drum part is easily performed by one player, but can be two players. As well, the pitches of the hand drums need to be in sync with the mallet instruments. If you’re doubling the mallets and making this a larger ensemble, you could as well double the hand drums as long as they don’t overplay. At Letter B, the melody is stated with the bells and reinforced by the marimba on the back half of the phrases. At Letter D, there is a modulation and the arrangement takes on more of a traditional flavor. Melody is carried by Glockenspiel & vibraphone and the timpani gives the low end support. A suggestion, if you don’t have timpani, electric or acoustic bass will work well for this part. The ending of the piece reverts back to the original groove with the tempo slightly relaxed. In measure 101, the Vibraphone have a D on the downbeat, which is a suspension that’s resolved in measure 102. Make sure the D isn’t too loud, i.e. shouldn’t be dominant over the root in the melody. Technically, this is an easy ensemble, but should be played with lots of musicianship. Make it sweet, and it’s sure to put your audience in the Christmas spirit.