It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Arnold Sherman has truly captured the essence of this beloved carol. The opening resembles twinkling stars in the clear night above. The melody enters underneath these "stars" and is given to the chimes. The key changes and the "twinkling" motif travels to the middle registers and the bells take the melody on top. Another key change and a fortissimo passage that lead to an Andante section of tolls. A slightly slower passage follows and is marked "as from a distance." The stars return along with an echo technique and chimes finishing off the melody in the middle register.