Carol of the Bells for six trombones and drum set

The trombone version of Carol of the Bells

Aron Simon arranged the trombone version of Carol of the Bells for six trombones and drum set for the Szeged Trombone Ensemble in 2018. It soon became a popular video on youtube because of the ensemble’s virtuoso playing and the great instrumentation. Carol of the Bells is a great piece for the holidays and will be a great addition to your holiday repertoire.

Looking for music for your holiday gig?

Get this arrangement of Carol of the bells for six trombones and drum set for your trombone ensemble because it is a great choice for closing your holiday recital.. This will definitely bring you a big ovation from your audience.

The Origins of Carol of the Bells

Conductor of the Ukrainian Republic Choir Oleksander Koshyts (also spelled Alexander Koshetz) commissioned Leontovych to create the song based on traditional Ukrainian folk chants. And the resulting new work for choir, “Shchedryk”, was based on four notes Leontovych found in an anthology.

The original folk story related in the song was associated with the coming New Year, which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was celebrated with the coming of spring in April. The original Ukrainian title translates to “the generous one” or is perhaps derived from the Ukrainian word for bountiful (shchedryj), and tells a tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the bountiful year that the family will have.

With the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine and the adoption of the Julian calendar, the celebration of the New Year was moved from April to January. And the holiday with which the chant was originally associated became Malanka (Ukrainian: Щедрий вечір Shchedry vechir), the eve of the Julian New Year (the night of January 13–14 in the Gregorian calendar). The songs sung for this celebration are known as Shchedrivky.

The song was first performed by students at Kiev University in December 1916, but the song lost popularity in Ukraine shortly after the Soviet Union took hold. It was introduced to Western audiences by the Ukrainian National Chorus during its 1919 concert tour of Europe and the Americas. On this tour the song was premiered in the United States on October 5, 1921 to a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall. The original work was intended to be sung a cappella by mixed four-voice choir. However, two other settings of the composition were also created by Leontovych: first for women’s choir (unaccompanied) and second for children’s choir with piano accompaniment. These are rarely performed or recorded.

source: wikipedia

Listen to Carol of the Bells for six trombones performed by the Szeged Trombone Ensemble