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Brian Blume’s arrangement of Coventry Carol, a traditional English carol based on a biblical play entitled The Pageant of the Shearman and Tailors, is a delicate and haunting treatment of its original. Scored for glockenspiel, vibraphone, and 4 different marimba parts, Mr. Blume does a fantastic job of creating differing textures throughout. He does this by layering in different voices at different times and by using the lowest marimba like a string bass, playing rhythmic figures while the other marimba parts are rolling.
Coventry Carol was premiered by the Southeastern University Percussion Ensemble in December 2017.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• 1 glockenspiel
• 1 vibraphone
• 2–3 marimbas*—(1) 4-octave, (1) low A, (1) low C
* If 3 marimbas aren’t available, this piece can be performed with 2 marimbas with M1 and M4 sharing a low C instrument.
Tapspace has produced a professional, clear, and well laid out product that includes a disc with a recording and parts, a setup diagram, and clear instructions regarding pedaling and roll interpretation. Therefore, directors and performers should have no trouble approaching this lovely arrangement of the traditional English “Coventry Carol.” Premiered by the Southeastern University Percussion Ensemble, Brian Blume’s arrangement would work well for a Christmas concert. In fact, I plan to perform “Coventry Carol” at our school’s Holiday Extravaganza concert this year.
Blume arranges the work as a theme-and-variations, with the melody moving amongst the instruments, primarily the vibraphone, marimba 1, and glockenspiel. The accompaniment changes as well, adding additional variety to the melodic timbre changes.
I recommend this piece for advanced middle school students and above. Not only does it make a great selection for a holiday concert, but from a pedagogical standpoint, “Coventry Carol” allows students to work on, among other things, single-stroke rolls, shaping melody and accompaniment figures, changing meters and tempi, balance, and expression. If it seems appropriate for the student’s needs, this work is also conducive to an unconducted chamber music setting. Regarding the parts, everything is playable with two mallets, although it’s possible that some parts could be simplified by using four mallets.
—Joseph Van Hassel
Percussive Notes
Vol. 57, No. 3, July 2019
Brian Blume’s arrangement of Coventry Carol, a traditional English carol based on a biblical play entitled The Pageant of the Shearman and Tailors, is a delicate and haunting treatment of its original. Scored for glockenspiel, vibraphone, and 4 different marimba parts, Mr. Blume does a fantastic job of creating differing textures throughout. He does this by layering in different voices at different times and by using the lowest marimba like a string bass, playing rhythmic figures while the other marimba parts are rolling.
Coventry Carol was premiered by the Southeastern University Percussion Ensemble in December 2017.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• 1 glockenspiel
• 1 vibraphone
• 2–3 marimbas*—(1) 4-octave, (1) low A, (1) low C
* If 3 marimbas aren’t available, this piece can be performed with 2 marimbas with M1 and M4 sharing a low C instrument.
Tapspace has produced a professional, clear, and well laid out product that includes a disc with a recording and parts, a setup diagram, and clear instructions regarding pedaling and roll interpretation. Therefore, directors and performers should have no trouble approaching this lovely arrangement of the traditional English “Coventry Carol.” Premiered by the Southeastern University Percussion Ensemble, Brian Blume’s arrangement would work well for a Christmas concert. In fact, I plan to perform “Coventry Carol” at our school’s Holiday Extravaganza concert this year.
Blume arranges the work as a theme-and-variations, with the melody moving amongst the instruments, primarily the vibraphone, marimba 1, and glockenspiel. The accompaniment changes as well, adding additional variety to the melodic timbre changes.
I recommend this piece for advanced middle school students and above. Not only does it make a great selection for a holiday concert, but from a pedagogical standpoint, “Coventry Carol” allows students to work on, among other things, single-stroke rolls, shaping melody and accompaniment figures, changing meters and tempi, balance, and expression. If it seems appropriate for the student’s needs, this work is also conducive to an unconducted chamber music setting. Regarding the parts, everything is playable with two mallets, although it’s possible that some parts could be simplified by using four mallets.
—Joseph Van Hassel
Percussive Notes
Vol. 57, No. 3, July 2019
