Hear the drone of the bagpipes! This original Celtic jig will delight your ringers and audience from the first note of the lilting original melody and the unusual turns it takes. Bass ringers play the open fifth intervals to support the melody. Add a bodhran or hand drum for some sparkle. Great for any celebratory moment in worship, concert or school presentation. Subtitled “Rejoice and Be Merry,” this flexible piece is available four different scores – all compatible: The Best Gift I & II (RE822112) are full choir pieces: Score #1 for 3 or 5/6 octaves with a single melody line in the treble and malleting down to C4 (the lower 5th octave, ringable by one person, is added in the final reprise) while Score #2 is for a fully staffed 5+ oct. ensemble, in which, half-way through the piece, the melody is played in octaves and the accompaniment expands to the full 5+ oct. bass range, mallets and all. In both cases, the bass mallet pattern involves 8th note pairs and triplets all played with a lilt and which, if a L2 bass part is desired, may be simplified to 8th note pairs throughout. The sound clip on Handbellworld.com features both complete versions: #1 first and then #2 after a slight pause.
A complementary folio (RE560634) features two more versions of The Best Gift 3 & 4: Score #3 for Bell Tree solo (Med. Difficulty), 4iH duet or small ensemble with piano accompaniment and Score #4 is a piano solo (Level 4/5) because it’s so much fun to play!
To see a complete listing of ringTrue pieces, including the True Music series for worship, concert, school and festival and Split-Level pieces with targeted easier ringing parts, enter RE in the Stock number search box at HandbellWorld.com. Other original Celtic-style pieces by Kath Wissinger include “A Large Day” LC201253L, “With All My Heart” GIG6414, “Welcome the Day” DR028 (soon to be re-released by ringTrue), “Advent Voices” LC201325L, “Hornpipe and Dance” RE3005123 and “Kingsport Processional” AG35293.