A traditional Seasonal favorite performed upon my Hohner musette accordion. The sheet music is from "Hymns for Accordion," published by Empire Music Publishers in British Columbia, Canada. The arrangement is by Karl Olson.
This tune appears briefly in the Robert Zemeckis 2004 animated motion picture "The Polar Express." For just a few seconds you can hear this song being played by the Hobo atop one of the snow-covered railroad coaches on the train. As the Hero Boy comes face to face with the extraordinary presence of the Hobo sitting before a campfire, you can hear a brief snippet of the song played upon a Hurdy-Gurdy. But the momentary refrain is so short that one could easily miss it and not notice the identity of the song.
I have held the adjacent bass notes down in couplet fashion in order to simulate the sound of the Hurdy-Gurdy, an unusual sound rendered even more pronounced via the distinctive tuning of this musette accordion. The Hohner is a 4/5 reed instrument in LMMM configuration featuring "wet" musette tuning, very different from the piccolo tuning or "dry" tuning of an LMMH "concert-tuned" instrument.
Back in the 1950's this song appeared on the popular Mantovani LP album entitled "Christmas Carols" issued by Decca Records. That album quickly became a favorite in our household and still remains a favorite as re-issued on CD a few years ago on another label. The original Mantovani album was recorded at Kingsway Hall in London in 1953, but another release was issued in Stereo in 1958. What a beautiful sound from 28 strings, comprised of 18 violins, 4 cellos, 4 violas and 2 double-basses blended with woodwind, brass and percussion. The original release also featured the atmospheric organ at Kingsway Hall, adding a measure of nobility and stateliness to the overall score of these warmly remembered Carols.
This tune appears briefly in the Robert Zemeckis 2004 animated motion picture "The Polar Express." For just a few seconds you can hear this song being played by the Hobo atop one of the snow-covered railroad coaches on the train. As the Hero Boy comes face to face with the extraordinary presence of the Hobo sitting before a campfire, you can hear a brief snippet of the song played upon a Hurdy-Gurdy. But the momentary refrain is so short that one could easily miss it and not notice the identity of the song.
I have held the adjacent bass notes down in couplet fashion in order to simulate the sound of the Hurdy-Gurdy, an unusual sound rendered even more pronounced via the distinctive tuning of this musette accordion. The Hohner is a 4/5 reed instrument in LMMM configuration featuring "wet" musette tuning, very different from the piccolo tuning or "dry" tuning of an LMMH "concert-tuned" instrument.
Back in the 1950's this song appeared on the popular Mantovani LP album entitled "Christmas Carols" issued by Decca Records. That album quickly became a favorite in our household and still remains a favorite as re-issued on CD a few years ago on another label. The original Mantovani album was recorded at Kingsway Hall in London in 1953, but another release was issued in Stereo in 1958. What a beautiful sound from 28 strings, comprised of 18 violins, 4 cellos, 4 violas and 2 double-basses blended with woodwind, brass and percussion. The original release also featured the atmospheric organ at Kingsway Hall, adding a measure of nobility and stateliness to the overall score of these warmly remembered Carols.
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