O Come All Ye Faithful

adapted/arr. John Riggio

Here's a spirited rendition of a classic Christmas carol. We have received a lot of positive feedback from our subscribers and customers about John's Celtic arrangements, and we think this one is a great addition to the genre. It features a rockin' rhythm section, lots of drums, strings, fiddle, and penny whistle.

The lyrics are probably ones you are familiar with, and John has added a few lyrics in the section at bar 28. Part 2, which is optional, joins the song the first time at bar 29 and remains in until the end of the piece. Vocals build dynamically from bars 21 to 25, where they sing full forte. If any of your students are just learning this carol, we have fiddle and penny whistle doubling the melody for the major portions of the song. For ease of learning part 2, it has been isolated and put on our web site where you can access it for free.

This song would be appropriate in a Christmas concert or revue, in school or in church. Because of its infectious energy, it would also be a great song to invite the audience to sing along with (for the familiar parts).

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.