Good King Wenceslas
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SKU: A0.1125812
By Michael Swedberg. By 13th Century Finnish Carol. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726552. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125812).This carol holds a special memory for me. I was living in Green Bay following my graduate studies and I was teaching private voice lessons at Appleton West High School with my brother and his wife at the request of the choral director, Kevin Meidl. Kevin was also the director of the Appleton Boychoir and one year he asked me to sing the solo part of this carol for a recording they were making. My arrangement of this carol is rather straightforward with very little altering of the basic rhythms found in the original tune. However, the melody in the first verse is found among triplet figures and therefore one must be sure to bring out the important notes. There is a dance-like quality to the music, reminiscent of a gigue from the Baroque period. Following a brief reprise of the opening material the melody shifts to the left hand, starting out as a single note and soon joined in harmony. To me, it represents the page and the king from the story as they walk through the cold, winter night to bring food and fuel to the peasant living near the mountain. The melody then moves back to the right hand, but is now played in half notes indicating the difficult terrain and the snow they must traverse causing them to move more slowly. The left hand rumbles below as a reminder of the wind blowing and the snow swirling about them. The page, fears he cannot go on, but the king tells him to walk in his footsteps and all will be well. Soon, monarch and servant are moving swiftly to their destination. The music slowly fades as they pass into the mountain’s shadow only to grow once again as they arrive at the poor man’s home. The final chords ring out as the door is thrown open and they step inside to share what they have brought.
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