The poem often comes first… Christina Rosetti wrote the words for Scribner’s Monthly in 1872, and then a few years later (1906, to be precise), Gustav Holst set her verse to music. The result: In the Bleak Midwinter, one of the most reflective and well-loved of all Christmas songs. We have a new Level 2 arrangement for two octaves of handbells/handchimes!
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan / earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow / in the bleak midwinter, long ago.
Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain / heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed / the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Angels and archangels may have gathered there / cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
but his mother only, in her maiden bliss / worshiped the beloved with a kiss.
What can I give him, poor as I am? / If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part / yet what I can I give him: give my heart.
Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.
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