Sheet Music for Harp Harpo Christmas Carols Book 1 Stephen Dunstone

Twelve carols. Each carol is offered in three formats. 1. Melodies in letter-name form for those learning to read music. 2. the same melodies in conventional notation which can be played with sophisticated fingering or with just the index finger of each hand – or anything in between. 3. A simple left hand part for the more experienced player. These 2-part versions could even be played as duets.   The book comes with a Play Along CD of the carols performed by the Netherwoods Harp Ensemble Each carol on the CD appears twice: once with both melody and harmony, and once with harmony only so the player can be the soloist with the Ensemble providing the backing. The tracks will soon also be available as MP3 downloads   Buy this music now £12.50 +p&p

Artist Profile and catalogue of works - Stephen Dunstone

Foreword from Harpo Christmas Carols Book 1

Read Me ....

The twelve carols in this book will, I hope, be a source of pleasure from (almost) day one of any harpist’s playing career – and will, I hope, continue to give pleasure for quite some time to come.

I decided to put it together because I wanted my pupils to enjoy playing carols without having to wait till they had mastered multi-fingered hand coordination and fluent reading skills – and without having to spend three weeks practising one carol. Books of carols are usually arranged on the assumption that the player is at least moderately competent at using both hands simultaneously to play independent lines: no one seems to offer melody-only versions (assuming, perhaps, that the buying public would consider it an outrageous rip-off to be charged for a bunch of melodies that could be got for free from any one of umpteen different sources). Although this book does include melody-only versions of each carol, what makes it different is that it’s accessible for players with virtually no experience and no music-reading skills, and it also has simple two-handed arrangements for players with more experience. And it has a CD to play along with, so the harpist can sit at home happily indulging in the sensation of being a member of the Netherwoods Harp Ensemble, even if she or he has only had a handful of lessons. Win, win, win…

I have presented each carol in three formats. Firstly, for those players who aren’t able to read music yet, I have provided the melodies in letter-name form. Then I have presented the same melodies in conventional notation; these can be played with sophisticated fingering or with just the index finger of each hand – or anything in between. Finally I have offered an arrangement of each carol with a simple left hand part for the more experienced player. These 2-part versions could even be played as duets. So it’s actually win, win, win, win…

Each carol on the CD appears twice: once with both melody and harmony, and once with harmony only so the player can be the soloist with the Ensemble providing the backing. So (at the risk of being repetitive here) I could even say that it’s win, win, win, win, win… I have recorded three verses for each carol (four for Noël Nouvelet); in most cases I have suggested that one of the verses could be played an octave higher, though they’ll work perfectly well if the player chooses not to change octave. In many cases I have added a new descant part to the harmony, as carols so often do have descants when performed, but the basic harmony will be familiar.

Finally, don’t forget that if a CD track initially feels too fast, you can always use Speedshifter, the app from the ABRSM, to slow it down, provided you’ve loaded the CD tracks onto your computer, or iPad, or phone. (Win, win, win, win, win, win………..)

Happy carolling!

 

Contents

Once In Royal David’s City
Away In A Manger
Good King Wenceslas
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Infant Holy
We Three Kings
In The Bleak Midwinter
Silent Night
O Come, All Ye Faithful
Noël Nouvelet
Masters In This Hall
We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Title:	Harpo Christmas Carols Book 1 + Play along CD
Composer:	Stephen Dunstone
Instrumentation:	Lever or Pedal Harp
Level:	Beginner
Format:	A4 stapled
Weight:	215gm
ISMN:	979-0-57046-260-5
Our Ref:	SD1005
Publisher:	Creighton's Collection
Printer/Distributor:	Creighton's Collection
Edition/Year:	2018
Origin:	UK