Ding Dong Merrily on High
Traditional arranged by Leif Strand and Olov Helge, adapted by Jay Dawson
General Info
Year: 2003
Duration: c. 3:30
Difficulty: III-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Arrangers Publishing Company
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $70.00 | Score Only (print) - $10.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III
Trombone I-II
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Auxiliary percussion
- Bells
- Chimes
- Drum Set
- Vibraphone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Ding Dong Merrily on High is a Christmas carol. The tune first appeared as a secular dance tune known under the title Branle de l'Official in Orchésographie, a dance book written by Jehan Tabourot (1519–1593). The lyrics are from English composer George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848–1934), and the carol was first published in 1924 in his The Cambridge Carol-Book. Woodward took an interest in church bell ringing, which no doubt aided him in writing it. The macaronic style is characteristic of Woodward’s delight in archaic poetry. Charles Wood harmonized the tune when it was published. More recently, Sir David Willcocks made an arrangement for the second book of Carols for Choirs.
The song is particularly noted for the Latin refrain:
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!
[Glory! Hosanna in the highest!]
where the sung vowel sound "o" of "Gloria" is fluidly sustained through a lengthy rising and falling melismatic melodic sequence.
- Program Note from Wikipedia
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Andrews University (Berrien Springs, Mich.) Wind Symphony (Byron Graves, conductor) - 4 December 2021
- New Orleans (La.) Concert Band (Charles Taylor, conductor) – 10 December 2017
- San Jose (Calif.) Wind Symphony (Jeffrey Benson, conductor) – 4 December 2016
- Knoxville (Tenn.) Christian Youth Bands – 9 December 2014
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Abide with Me (as arranger)
- Amazing Grace (as arranger) (1995)
- By Dawn's Early Light (1995)
- Candlelight Carol (as arranger) (1984)
- Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (1757/2003)
- Ding Dong Merrily on High (as arranger) (2003)
- Fanfare (2012)
- For the Beauty of the Earth (as arranger) (2009)
- Go Tell It on the Mountain (as arranger) (2006)
- Highland Cathedral (as arranger) (2009)
- Holiday Piece (as arranger) (1993)
- Jingle Bells (as arranger) (1857/1992)
- La Bohème (as arranger) (1896/1992)
- Land Between (1993)
- O Come O Come Emmanuel (as arranger)
- Reelin' in the Years (as arranger)
- Silent Night (as arranger)
- Stars (2000)
- Tennessee Salute (as arranger)
- You Can Call Me Al (as arranger) (1986)
Resources
- Ding Dong Merrily on High, Wikipedia Accessed 26 November 2016
- Strand, L.; Helge, O.; Dawson, J. (2003). Ding Dong! Merrily on High [score]. Arrangers' Publishing Co.: [United States].