Story Behind The Song

This is my 2015 Christmas Song. It began as a concept for a World Beat arrangement of the Russian Christmas Carol known as the Carol of the Bells, but evolved to include jazz, classical and new age elements as well.

Song Description

The song begins with a World Beat feel in 6/8, featuring a xylophone part played by my son Alec (12). It then moves into a jazzy but still Earthy feel with a 4/4 drum part behind a waltz time pan flute holding the melody. For the final refrain, I was going to feature a vocal part that was supposed to feel lost in eternity, but became a chorus part, featuring my voice on triplicates of an SATB choir arrangement. The translation of the lyric is perhaps the most traditional, but not actually the one I have heard most often.