Sing We Now of Christmas
John and Gary Matheny have arranged this iconic French carol for 3-5 octaves of handbells. Although not rhythmically difficult, careful attention must be paid to the dynamics and the specific notes indicated for selective damping in order to effectively balance the melody against the various accompaniment figures.
After a 12-measure introduction, the upper treble bells play the melody in octaves, with a solid bass line and an apreggiated countermelody in the battery bells. The second iteration of the melody is played by the battery with a sparkling obbligato in the upper bells.
The bass bells take over for the third verse, elongating the melody while the battery and upper bells play repeated phases incorporating snippets of some of the motifs. Finally, the melody returns in octaves and is shared between the different octaves, before ending as simply as it began.