Here’s our six-handbell arrangement of the usual American melody for this carol. We think it shows a bit of Richard Willis’ (the composer’s) musical background – did you know he studied with Felix Mendelssohn?
It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, good will to men, from heaven’s all-gracious King.”
The world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the angels sing.
Our piano-accompanied six-handbell arrangement of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (hymn tune: CAROL) provides an opportunity to play as a two-bells-each trio. Another possibility is to play as a duet where one ringer plays four bells and the other (perhaps a younger/newer player!) plays two bells.
The six bells in the score are accompanied by piano; if you don’t happen to have an accompanist available, we also have an accompaniment MP3 available for purchase.
