Enjoy a new setting of the familiar English folk melody, Greensleeves. This arrangement by Daniel M. Reck, which can also be titled "What Child is This?," is an excellent addition to any concert program year-round or for an Christmas season service or performance.
Beginning in E minor, the piece grows from a pianissimo, using snippets of the melody introduced in the lowest octaves. The familiar tune is taken through a series of interesting variations before a dramatic transition to D minor.
In the new key, the bass bells reign with the melody as the highest octaves create a counterpoint and the middle octaves provide rhythm. In the final seconds of the setting, the work returns to the quiet, effervescent style of the introduction before finally vanishing into silence.
Greensleeves does not require any advanced performance techniques except for occasional bell switches.
"For Katherine Ann Taylor."
Instrumentation Required
AGEHR Level 3
Music by Daniel M. Reck.