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I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (SATB)

SATB Choir with Organ and Piano (4-hands)
Michelle Willis

A new melody on a familiar text by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The accompaniment mimics church bells as the singers melodically paint a picture of Longfellow's epic poem. A minor section reflects the poet's despair at the thought of the end of Christmas peace, then triumphantly rises with the reassuring words, "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep".

 
Performance Time: 3 minutes

Difficulty: Medium

 

 

TEXT

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And whild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th' unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men".

Till, ringing, singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.