- O Little Town of Bethlehem for SATB Choir & Piano on Choirworks
- O Little Town of Bethlehem on Sheet Music Direct
- Coming soon to J.W. Pepper & Sheet Music Plus
Phillips Brooks’ beloved Christmas hymn takes on a lively, jubilant character in this setting of FOREST GREEN, the English folk melody collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams. With its buoyant rhythms and spirited forward motion, the tune brings an unexpected brightness to the familiar text, celebrating the wonder of Christ’s birth with warmth and energy. The SATB arrangement and piano accompaniment give this traditional pairing a festive lift, making it a refreshing alternative to the more familiar, gentle treatment of this Christmas favorite.
The story behind this pairing is especially interesting. Brooks, an American Episcopal priest, wrote the text in 1868 for the Sunday school children of his Philadelphia church, inspired by his visit to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve in 1865. In the United States, the hymn is most often sung to ST. LOUIS, a melody composed by the church’s organist, Lewis Redner. Across the Atlantic, however, another tune became beloved.
In December 1903, Vaughan Williams collected an English folk melody from a singer in Forest Green, Surrey, where it was associated with the traditional song The Ploughboy’s Dream. He later paired the melody with Brooks’s text for The English Hymnal, published in 1906. The result was a distinctive alternative to the American tune, one whose English folk roots give the hymn a different rhythmic character and a fresh sense of movement.
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Two musical traditions, separated by an ocean, thus grew around the same Christmas text. This SATB-and-piano setting celebrates the exuberance of FOREST GREEN, inviting choirs to rediscover a familiar carol with renewed energy and festive spirit.
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