On The Road To Bethlehem

by Mike Wilson

Religious Christmas tune or a pretty winter song... You've got the option with "On The Road To Bethlehem"/"Sing A Song This Winter Night." With two sets of lyrics (the secular winter lyrics are in italics), we used a "We Three Kings" feel for this 2-part round that's really easy to learn. The first time is unison, second time is where the round begins. The bridge (measure 27) is back to unison, then it's a round and 2-part to the end.

Keep an eye on that road map. The first ending of the verse repeats back to bar five, then the second ending of the bridge takes you all the way to the D.C., so back to the top. There is no repeat on the D.C. at measure 5, so watch that. Then before you hit the first ending of the verse again, you will jump to the coda. There is a handy little English horn line that cues you into each verse. And don't forget dynamics. The first time through is mezzo piano. The second time is mezzo forte and the third time is forte.

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.