Deck the Halls

The original Welsh song "Nos galan" dating back to the sixteenth century, has become an international Christmas carol with the English lyric "Deck the hall with boughs of holly".

The song does not offer much in terms of variation, but I have tried to construct a short piece where one can see that the song still offers itself to a wide array of stylistical treatments.
The opening is almost like a Christmas Overture, before it wanders in to a "renaissance"-like style.
The middle section offers a much more "lush" and lyrical rubato treatment, with lots of color and thick harmonization.
The end then turns the tempo even more up than at the start of the piece, and brings us through a "big band" ending with long soaring lines.

- John Philip Hannevik -