The tune for this carol came to me in a dream in the Fall of 1978. This has happened only three or four times. I woke up and wrote it down, quickly! I was afraid I'd forget it. I always thought the tune sounded like a Christmas carol; later I added appropriate words.

In scoring the tune, I had the idea of including, in the piano part, quotations of one of the world’s most famous melodies. Several times and especially at the end, you'll hear the piano accompaniment quoting the opening of J.S. Bach's most famous tune, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."

Bach’s “Jesu” tune is one of the greatest melodies ever conceived, ever-fresh, always a blessing. What gifts old Bach left for us!

The following Spring I wrote a set of variations on the tune, the final movement of my Serenade for Mary (not the Virgin Mary of ancient Galilee, by the way; rather my friend Mary Hoffman of Columbus, Ohio).

The Serenade is scored for flute, clarinet and string quartet. After more than thirty years, I finally got it recorded and released on a CD of my music entitled "Serenade."

Listen for the wonderful, expressive playing of clarinetist Michelle Gingras and flutist Betty Douglas. The strings play beautifully, too: violinists: Kris Frankenfeld and Elizabeth Steva, violist Dorotea Vismara Hoffman and cellist Ellen Shertzer. I was fortunate to recruit such fine musicians for this recording and a first-rate recording engineer, too, in the person of John Burgess. Cincinnati is a remarkably musical city and there are many musically gifted people here.

Rick Sowash
Cincinnati, OH

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An original Christmas Carol? Would anyone welcome yet another Christmas carol? Provided that the tune is a good one, sure!

I’m guessing that, regarding most familiar Christmas music, you feel what I feel: weary of it. If, one more time, while standing in line at the Family Dollar or Walmart, I am forced endure “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” or “Jingle Bell Rock,” stand back. I may start throwing things.

Does this render me guilty of ‘grinchedness’?

(By the way, the French word for our English adjective “grumpy" is “grincheux” for a guy, “grincheuse” for a girl. These French words must have been the origin of the name Dr. Seuss gave his famously grouchy character The Grinch. Dr. Seuss was an original, a regular pipterino, one of my heroes.)

There are a handful of Christmas tunes that I love: “The Holly and the Ivy,” “Good King Wenceslaus,” “In the Bleak Midwinter,” “What Wondrous Love is This?” and “A Virgin Most Pure.”

Still, I wouldn’t welcome the opportunity to hear a set of variations on any of those tunes; they're too familiar.

Then again, what makes Theme & Variations a romp is not the tune; it’s the variations. Take Mozart’s variations on “Ah, Vous Dirai-je, Maman” (the tune we know as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”)? It’s tied for first place as the hackneyed-est tune of all time, right up there with “Hot Cross Buns,” “Ring Around the Rosey" and “London Bridge is Falling Down.”

But, Jumpin’ Jehosaphat! Mozart’s variations are astonishing!

The original carol on which I wrote these variations, scored for string trio, is entitled, “A Little Child There is Y-Born.” It’s a setting of a traditional text the begins with those words.

After a Vaughan-Williams-ish introduction, 17 seconds into the piece, the carol is stated in the violin while the viola and cello pluck their strings, guitar-like. After several pleasing variations the tune, which has been in a modal minor key all along, bursts out in the parallel major at 2:05 when the violin puts forward a fugue subject based on the carol. The instruments take up the fugue subject and give it a whirl. The little piece ends with an uplifting coda.

It’s a short piece, a modest affair, befitting a carol that celebrates the humble birth of You-Know-Who.

To hear "Variations on an Original Christmas Carol" for string trio beautifully performed by violinist Kris Frankenfeld, violist Belinda Burge and cellist Ellen Shertzer, click on the link above.

To see a PDF of the score, click on the link above.

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Today I want to share with you a set of variations on an original Christmas carol. You might recognize it because I slipped it into my new piece, “A Pirate’s Christmas,” which I shared last week. In that piece, it’s difficult to know whether this tune is a Christmas carol or a pirate song. A good tune, it could serve either function.

I’m guessing that, regarding most familiar Christmas music, you feel what I feel: weary of it. If, one more time, while standing in line at Kroger’s, I am forced endure “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” or “Jingle Bell Rock,” I may start throwing things.

Am I Scrooge-like, guilty of ‘grinchedness’?

(By the way, the French word for being “grumpy" is “grincheux.” It had to have been the origin of the name Dr. Seuss gave his famously grouchy character.)

There are a handful of Christmas tunes that I love: “The Holly and the Ivy,” “Good King Wenceslaus,” “In the Bleak Midwinter,” “What Wondrous Love is This?” and “A Virgin Most Pure.”

Still, I wouldn’t welcome the opportunity to hear a set of variations on any of those tunes; they're too familiar.

Then again, what makes a good set of variations is not the tune; it’s the ways the tune is varied and how it grows and develops in the process.

Consider Mozart’s brilliant variations on “Ah, Vous Dirai-je, Maman” (the tune we know as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”)? The tune itself is the most hackneyed tune of all time, but, Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! Mozart’s variations are astonishing!

The original carol on which I wrote these variations, scored for string trio, is titled, “A Little Child There is Y-Born.” It’s a setting of a traditional text the begins with those words.

After a Vaughan-Williams-ish introduction, 17 seconds into the piece, the carol is stated in the violin while the viola and cello pluck their strings, guitar-like. After several pleasing variations the tune, which has been in a modal minor key all along, bursts into a major key at 2:05 when the violin puts forward a fugue subject based on the carol. The instruments take up the fugue subject and give it a whirl. The little piece ends with an uplifting coda.

To hear "Variations on an Original Christmas Carol" for string trio beautifully performed by violinist Kris Frankenfeld, violist Belinda Burge and cellist Ellen Shertzer, click on the link above.

There's also a link to a PDF of the score.