Bell Carol Fantasy

This familiar carol has its roots in a traditional folk chant about a swallow bringing a New Year's message of plentiful new year, and the title comes from the Ukrainian word for "bountiful". I decided to emphasize the sense of bountiful and I open this arrangement with the familiar bell tune now played slowly and elongated by the low, autumnal clarinets. I let this new "theme of abundance" build and fill out colorfully among the whole orchestra before fading away. The flutes offer a suggestion of birds passing in gentle flight. This theme soon becomes recognizable as the well-known bell motif as the piece launches into the familiar carol tune. To close out the work I bring out the dance energy of the cross rhythms and counter melodies. This work was recorded by the Janackova Filharmonie Ostrava, Stanislav Vavrinek, conductor, and released on the Navona Label in 2024 as part of the "Dashing Vol.4 " album. https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6569/ Duration: 5 mins. Set string count: 5, 5, 4, 4, 2 Instrumentation: Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets (B), 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets (B), 3 Trombones, Tuba Timpani, Percussion: Snare Drum, Cymbal, Triangle; Strings