First Noel, The
The gentleness of this arrangement is emphasized by the arranger's dedication to his newborn son's first Christmas. The melody appears first in the lower bells and is accompanied by an ostinato, eighth-note pattern played on suspended upper bells using mallets. The pattern then moves to the lower register (without mallets) and the melody in octaves takes over in the treble clef. The middle section keeps the motion going by using running eighth-note accompaniment.