Description

This arrangement of “Oh Holy Night” by Brian Seemann is written for 4-6 octaves of handbells with optional 3 octaves of handchimes and optional belltree. The handbell choir begins the piece and plays the first verse alone, with the standard triplet rhythms and accidentals found in the original. The second verse, marked by a tempo increase, sees the chimes and belltree soloist join the choir, with the chimes playing the melody, the choir providing the harmonic structure, and the soloist rendering a challenging obbligato descant. While the handbell part is relatively straight-forward, the belltree part is not for the faint of heart! However, this is a worthy challenge which will result in a sparkling performance of this much-loved piece. The belltree part is written within the handbell score and also is available separately.