Item Number: S0.940053

On Christmas night all Christians sing to hear the news the angels bring.
On Christmas night all Christians sing to hear the news the angels bring.
News of great joy, news of great mirth,
News of our merciful King's birth!

This joyous Christmas song was first published by Luke Wadding, an Irish bishop, in a 17th century collection called Small Garland of Godly and Pious Songs. It became known as ?Sussex Carol? in the early 20th century upon being collected by British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, who heard it being sung by a folk singer in Sussex, England. He later included it in his choral settings, Eight Traditional English Carols and Fantasia on Christmas Carols.

This pedal harp arrangement is in the key of G flat (with a short section in D flat mixolydian for variety, from measures 56 to 65). There are no pedal changes.

The right hand has the melody most of the time, with the left hand accompanying; but the left hand gets to take center stage from measures 33 through 47; again from measures 86 through 89; and again at the end, from measures 100 through 106.

I?ve also made a lever harp arrangement of this song, which is similar except that it?s in the key of G. If you ever wanted to play this arrangement in G instead of G flat, you could do so just by setting the pedals to the key of G at the beginning (and ignoring the key signature).

Perfect for all Christmas events: from church services, to concerts, to parties.

For more harp arrangements by Stephanie Bennett, subscribe to HarpworldMusicCo on YouTube, and visit www.harpworld.com/sheetmusic.html.

I hope you enjoy sharing this cheerful song with your listeners, during many happy holidays! ? Stephanie Bennett

On Christmas night all Christians sing to hear the news the angels bring.
On Christmas night all Christians sing to hear the news the angels bring.
News of great joy, news of great mirth,
News of our merciful King's birth!

This joyous Christmas song was first published by Luke Wadding, an Irish bishop, in a 17th century collection called Small Garland of Godly and Pious Songs. It became known as ?Sussex Carol? in the early 20th century upon being collected by British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, who heard it being sung by a folk singer in Sussex, England. He later included it in his choral settings, Eight Traditional English Carols and Fantasia on Christmas Carols.

This lever harp arrangement is in the key of G (with a short section in D mixolydian for variety, from measures 56 to 65). There are no lever changes. It is suited for harps with at least 34 strings.

The right hand has the melody most of the time, with the left hand accompanying; but the left hand gets to take center stage from measures 33 through 47; again from measures 86 through 89; and again at the end, from measures 100 through 106.

This arrangement is great for all Christmas events, from church services to concerts to parties.
The YouTube video shows the pedal harp arrangement, which is exactly the same as the lever harp arrangement except that it is in the key of G flat instead of G; and it has ONE extra very low note at the very end.

For more harp arrangements by Stephanie Bennett, please subscribe to HarpworldMusicCo on Youtube, and visit www.harpworld.com/sheetmusic.html.
I hope you enjoy sharing this cheerful song with your listeners, during many happy holidays! - Stephanie Bennett

Arranged for 26-string harp, although easily playable on larger harps, this version of the famous and greatly requested tune is like a theme and variations. It is well edited with some fingerings, brackets, and dynamic markings, and in the key of E minor. Theme is in 3/4 time and is played through once. Five following variations are in more of a driving 6/8 time. Depending on how fast it's taken, this song can easily fill up a nice segment of set with something very pleasant and not too difficult. The tune is also used as "What Child is This" so could be played at a Christmas gig!

The Water Music was composed by George Frideric Handel in 1717 in response to a request from King George I of England for a concert on the River Thames.

King George boarded the royal barge at Whitehall Palace, (accompanied by dukes and duchesses, earls and countesses) and floated leisurely up the Thames, followed by another barge carrying the orchestra of 50 musicians, who performed as they floated down the river. The king was so pleased by Handel?s music that he commanded it to be repeated at least 3 times, both on the way to Chelsea and on the return to Whitehall.

The celebratory mood of the ALLA HORNPIPE movement makes it a wonderful wedding recessional! It is also appropriate for any other joyous occasion.

This arrangement for pedal harp solo by Stephanie Bennett (?One of our country?s top harpists? - the Hollywood Reporter) is meticulously notated with fingerings, pedal changes and muffles where needed. All markings are explained in the Performance Notes.

In its traditional AABA form, it is 4 minutes long. It is easy to make it shorter by playing fewer sections, or longer by repeating sections as needed.