Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Description

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing by Felix Mendelssohn

Arranged for flute and piano by Rebecca Faith

This is a highly unique arrangement by Rebecca Faith. Its features are laid back jazzy chords and syncopated rhythms within a 6/8 structure. There is frequent use of clashing seconds in the harmony, but the familiar melody is prominent and not lost. This piece has five clear sections: a verse of the melody, a piano solo, another verse of the melody, a flute solo, then a final rendition of the melody – but here the flute continues to maintain an experimental feel, combining the verse and solo sections to conclude. All of Rebecca's Christmas Carol arrangements are fresh, exciting and uniquely crafted, and are very much for the concert platform rather than a sing-along or play-along at home with Dad playing the piano part. These beautiful arrangements require work on the part of both flautist and pianist, as with a demanding accompaniment they are very much a duo. The majority are for the advanced flautist, minimum grade 6-7 standard, as there are some complicated rhythms, flutter tonguing and technically challenging jazzy-style passages. Highly recommended and well received by audiences there is nothing else available like them, and so these challenging yet thoroughly enjoyable arrangements fill a gap in the market and are an effective and welcome addition to the repertoire, providing some festive music with a rather different flavour, away from the usual standard melody with accompaniment.