Trees And Wreaths

Greenery seems to be ubiquitous during the holidays no matter what celebrations are going on. And that's just fine with us. Whether it's a tree in the living room, a wreath on the door, or garlands strung across every stationary object in sight, they are beautiful and add to the warmth and coziness of the season.

This atmospheric minor song attempts to capture the feelings associated with being wrapped in the lushness of greenery, greenery everywhere. It's actually a round, though the first time through, it's sung in unison just to introduce the melody and get everyone used to how it goes, not to mention what it says. Listening to and singing along with the full performance recording (track 13) will go a long way in helping your singers pick it up. The continuous eighth note lilt will help with the style as well.

On the repeat, it breaks into a round four bars in. This continues into yet another repeat giving the part singing fun a chance to really take off and shine. There's a natural reduction in the melody as it comes to the end each time, landing on a sustained low D. Then suddenly, at bar 33, a punctuated exclamation carries the two parts together to the final measure. It's very satisfying.

If you want to make this more challenging and interesting for singers and audience, consider using the optional tempo changes marked on the music. We have recorded this version several ways and put it on our web site to listen to or use as you prefer. Included, you will hear an alternate full version (with accelerandos), an alternate accompaniment version (with accelerandos), and an a cappella version (with accelerandos). Just because we can, we also added an a cappella version with no accelerandos.