Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 14 Nov 02 - 10:24 AM

Okay, then... I'll sing the first and last verses, with less intro this time.

And may I just say now that I have your carol stuck in my head?

I don't know whether to hug you, or :::thwaap::: you upside the head with a boingy foam rubber mallet! ;-)

The rhythm of the lines "Joyous! Joyous! Join the celebra-a-tion!" is especially catchy...

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Genie
Date: 14 Nov 02 - 08:42 AM

Actually, I don't know how long my voice mail message can be, but I imagine it's at least a minute to 90 sec. You can always call again if you need two calls to finish the song. It's a free call. But you should be able to sing a couple of verses before it cuts off.

Genie

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 13 Nov 02 - 01:12 PM

PS, Ann, can you add your chorus tune to one of the Finale Notepad files, or call my toll-free number and sing it for me? Thanks.

I can but try!

BTW, how long can a message be on your voice mail? I only sang one verse, the last time, because I was afraid of getting cut off...

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Genie
Date: 13 Nov 02 - 11:40 AM

What mary said.

Having a refrain or chorus, even if it's just a reprise of the last line or two of each verse, can be a great asset in a sing-along. In performance, it's not as important. And, yes, Ann, what really matters is what you want the song to be.

Genie

PS, Ann, can you add your chorus tune to one of the Finale Notepad files, or call my toll-free number and sing it for me? Thanks.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: mg
Date: 13 Nov 02 - 11:20 AM

I am of the opinion that it is great the way it is and it's just my philosophy I guess that once it is officially done, and you are the only one who can say it is or it isn't, it's best not to twiddle it to death. What came out of your heart and soul originally is probably the purest version. But I would encourage people to add their own choruses or whatever but keep the original as the original. mg

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 13 Nov 02 - 10:39 AM

Okay. Thanks, Mary!

In the meantime, Genie has been wanting this song to have a longer refrain/chorus (Giving more of a change for large groups of people to join in), and I think I may have a chorus that also helps fix the singability problem in the last line.

What do you think of this?

Sample:

Give thanks to the God-dess, the sweet liv-ing Earth:
thanks for the cy-cle of death and re-birth.
She lives in our hearts, and the love that we share.
So raise all your voic-es, let song fill the air!

Oh,[E] sweet[G] song![C]
So raise all your voic-es, let song fill the air!
[Same melody as the first time]

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: mg
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 11:58 PM

well, I did some passing around of it tonight..there are some people, like VC of Seattle that I can just hear singing it in my head...also Jon Bartlett if he is reading this...can you learn it for Sasamat? mg

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 06:05 PM

*sob* she's telling us we don't count! *wail!*

Of Course you count, MMario! But, well, you understand that I am Pagan... and Pagans do things in threes. The song is not "truly out there" until I have shared it in three ways:

The first way is with the friends I see every day, face-to-face ("Hey, come listen to this this song I'm working on."). I did that last year, when I first got the idea for the song.

The second way is to ask for expert help on it, and share it with others who will mostly likely spread it to their circles. That's what I'm doing in this thread.

The third way is to share it with strangers in "the wide beyond"... That's what publishing in the e-zine will be.

Once the song has three legs, then it will stand on its own -- like a stool.

If it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't have considered it "truly out there" either if it had appeared in the e-zine but not on Mudcat.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: MMario
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 04:39 PM

(note: the following is intended to be humour.)

*sob* she's telling us we don't count! *wail!*

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 04:25 PM

and I think when the music and midi came out it was done

Well, yes... But....

I'm thinking of submitting this to an online, Pagan literary e-zine called "Scribes of the Goddess" for the Yule issue (the 'zine has been defunct for a while, and is being re-animated, we hope, on or near, the solstice). I came to Mudcat to iron out the kinks before I submitted it. And the submission deadline is December 10, so in my heart of hearts I won't really thing it is completely "out there" until then...

Here's a link to a sample issue of that 'Zine

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 01:08 PM

at some point you have to call a job done and I think when the music and midi came out it was done

Okay, Mary!

(you know, I was just giving that exact same advice to someone else not too long ago... I just need to learn to take it ;-))

I do suggest, however, for those who want, or need, to drop a syllable from the last line, to drop "sweet", rather than the "-es" from "voices".

So the last line is:

"So raise up your voices, let songs fill the air",

with the melody line: E, D, C, D, F, E, D, C, D, B, C.

I'm a spoken word writer first, and nothing makes me climb the wall faster than an unneeded shift into or out of the plural.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Jeri
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 01:00 PM

Alright then people! It was a typo, OK? Enny fule no that 1/8 + 1/8 = 1/4. Just a TYPO! And that part about the last line that didn't rhyme was a typo too. Yeah, that's right. (I need to stop writing stuff when I'm suffering from caffeine deficiency.)

And Mary's right - you have to call it done sometime.
But you could always just leave "Let" out and...oh, OK - I'll stop.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: mg
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 12:33 PM

I would leave it as is and people will make modest adjustments of their own....at some point you have to call a job done and I think when the music and midi came out it was done, which doesn't mean that you an others can't modify it as needed...mg

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 12:24 PM

If you change the - actually 2 6th notes to a quarter note, isn't it?

No, it's two eighth notes

- you'd have the right ratio of notes per syllable for the last verse only. Of course, you could always change "voices" to "voice" in every verse.

You could put "--" in for the missing syllable.

Or, just treat the last line as a coda, and have it different for that melody line only (Which is what I've done, with NWC, just to see how it sounds. Sounds okay!

Now...
There's nothing wrong with using the same last line throughout the song. My guess is that if you sing this around a a bunch of singers, they'll pick up the last line and sing along. If you change the verse, you're going to have to give people hand signals or wiggle your eyebrows at them to let them know they have to be quiet for the last line because it's different.

So I favor using "So raise up your voices. Fill the air with sweet song!" as the last line of every verse.

Yes, but then it won't rhyme. Of course, there's no law that says it has to rhyme, but there's been at least a near rhyme all the way through, and a sharp left turn at the end, may make people double-take even more violently than share/air. So now, I thinking about changing the penultamite line:

Lessee: "She lives in our hearts, and her love makes us strong" scans okay, but that would mean using the strong/song rhyme twice in a row... Again, no law against that, but I'd prefer not to. How about: "She bides in our hearts, with us all the year long"?

Just a thought...

It really is easier to change the words than reposting all the midis!

...but YMMV

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Jeri
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 10:02 AM

If you change the - actually 2 6th notes to a quarter note, idn't it? - you'd have the right ratio of notes per syllable for the last verse only. Of course, you could always change "voices" to "voice" in every verse.

You could put "--" in for the missing syllable.

Now...
There's nothing wrong with using the same last line throughout the song. My guess is that if you sing this around a a bunch of singers, they'll pick up the last line and sing along. If you change the verse, you're going to have to give people hand signals or wiggle your eyebrows at them to let them know they have to be quiet for the last line because it's different.

So I favor using "So raise up your voices. Fill the air with sweet song!" as the last line of every verse.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 09:28 AM

Barry T:

Oh, so you're the one who's been 'calling'! (LOL)

Don't tell me you've been rummaging around in my brain, Barry! I didn't get a chance to tidy up the place... I hope the spiders under my hypothalimus didn't bother you too much... ;-)

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 09:24 AM

I also like, "Raise all your voices, let your joy fill the air."

Or, here's a thought that came to me as I was getting ready for bed:

Do both-- Cut out a syllable, and make the ones that remain more melodious:

Raise all your voices, let joy fill the air!

I'll work on that later, right now, I need to get dressed so I can go to the supermarket.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Genie
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 04:23 AM

Ann, PM me your fax # and I'll fax the Finale sheet music to you.  Feel free to share any of my comments with folks here if you like.  I just PMd them to you because I thought some of my comments/suggestions were outside the main point of this thread.

Ann, Funny, that's what Genie said, but when I cut the syllable from the lyrics, the words stop one note before the dots on the staff do...
If you take out that one syllable, you need to change the two half notes to one whole note.
Noteworthy Composer simply won't put a note on the staff unless there is a syllable (or pause symbol) to go with it.  Finale will let you do that.  (I can't use Noteworthy, since I have Mac.)

So, instead of "Raise up your / voices, Let sweet / songs fill the / air,"  you would have  "Raise up your / voice, Let sweet / song(s) fill the / air."  "...voice, Let sweet" is three quarter notes.

An alternative is "Raise all your voices, May sweet song fill the air."

I also like, "Raise all your voices, let your joy fill the air."  (Same # of syllables as in the other 3 verses, but more melodic words and less a tongue-twister.)

----Oh, I see you already zoomed in on that one, Ann.   (I told you great minds think alike, didn't I?  *BG*)

Genie

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Barry T
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 02:10 AM

CapriUni> What I really need is a telepathic midi generator...

Oh, so you're the one who's been 'calling'! (LOL)

- - -

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 01:26 AM

From Haruo:

(Hello, there, by the way! I don't believe I've had the pleasure...)

Verne (my roommate) was all gung ho to have it sung in church until I pointed out the likelihood that some in the congregation might find the Goddess references unbaptistic ;-) ...

LoL!

Though actually, I've often wondered why more Christians don't celebrate the Solstice as well as Christmas... After all, according to the Bible the very first blessing of Creation that God gave us was light itself.

And according to both Biblical and historical evidence Jesus was actually born in the spring (the only time sheperds would routinely "watch their flocks by night" is during the lambing season; and Ceasar held the census around the ides of March). But the early Christians decided to celebrate His birth around the solstice for 2 reasons. One reason was that it was already a customary day of celebration. But the other was symbolic: According to Christian teaching, Jesus, like the winter solstice sun, is the "Light that pierces the darkness."

Oh, and as for the last lines, how do these bounce against your minds' ears:

She lives in our hearts and the love that we share,
So raise all your voices, let your joy fill the air ??

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Haruo
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 12:41 AM

It's been fascinating and fun to watch this song take shape here. Several days ago I gave the tune (as it then stood, anyway) to my roommate (organist at my Baptist church) to harmonize. He hasn't got it back to me yet, and it looks like Barry et al've done a thorough job of it anyhow, but if/when he does, I'll share his version too. Verne (my roommate) was all gung ho to have it sung in church until I pointed out the likelihood that some in the congregation might find the Goddess references unbaptistic ;-) ...

Haruo

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 12:27 AM

I wrote:

if I can't figure out how to make a clear file of it, perhaps you could fax a copy to me?

That's a typo. I meant MG, not me (I don't have a fax machine).

That selfsame MG wrote:

I think that you are right about the stressed syllables and perhaps why you have been frustrated by this program in the past...

Well, I've been a little bit frustrated by it, but of all the composing programs, it's the least frustrating so far... What I really need is a telepathic midi generator, that will translate what I hear in my head directly into a form that can be shared with others...

But I don't think that's been invented yet...

Jeri:

She lives in our hearts and the love that we share.
Let her song fill the air ??

Or maybe:

"We'll raise all our voices, let our joy fill the air!" ??

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: mg
Date: 11 Nov 02 - 11:54 PM

I think that you are right about the stressed syllables and perhaps why you have been frustrated by this program in the past... mg

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 11 Nov 02 - 11:47 PM

I actually change voices to voice when singing because there is one too many syllables there and then sweet songs works

Funny, that's what Genie said, but when I cut the syllable from the lyrics, the words stop one note before the dots on the staff do...

If you've designated a staff to have lyrics, Noteworthy Composer simply won't put a note on the staff unless there is a syllable (or pause symbol) to go with it. So I know, in terms of simple counting, at least, that

"Raise all your voices, let sweet songs fill the air"

in the last verse has exactly the same number of syllables as

"Raise all your voices, fill the air with sweet song"

in the other three verses. Why do you suppose it sounds like there is one more? Perhaps what the ear is hearing is not the number of syllables in a line, but the number of stressed syllables in a line?

..see what happens when you turn a song loose...

Yeah. Just like a toddler: once it finds its legs and starts running, there's no keeping up with it!

:::Mahoosive grin:::

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Jeri
Date: 11 Nov 02 - 11:41 PM

She lives in our hearts and the love that we share.
Let her song fill the air ??

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: mg
Date: 11 Nov 02 - 11:12 PM

don't worry about me. I have the web site. That is all I need.

I actually change voices to voice when singing because there is one too many syllables there and then sweet songs works..see what happens when you turn a song loose...

mg

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 11 Nov 02 - 11:00 PM

mg:

I know I said I'd email you the jpeg of the score, but the file keeps coming out three times the size of normal printer paper... when I reduce it down to a managable size, the detail goes wonky, and bits of the staff and the stems of the notes disapear... :::Sigh:::: Do you have Adobe reader? maybe saving it as an .pdf file would work


Genie:

I hope you don't mind, I'm extending our pm conversation to the thread, so that others may see it (since the conclusions we draw may affect the final version of the song). A bit of background:

In anticipation of teaching this song to a group for a choral version (is that right?), Genie pointed out a hiccup in the last line of the song: the "tsw" sound blend in "let sweet" is just too durn hard to sing, or at least too hard to sing in a way that sounds good.

So we're trying to hammer out alternatives. One alternative is to change "Let sweet" to "May glad," another is to change the last line to "When we raise up our voices and sweet songs fill the air"... but that would mean inserting an extra note into the line...

And there are probably other alternatives neither of us have thought of yet. :-)

(And yes, Genie... you may fax this song to people... if I can't figure out how to make a clear file of it, perhaps you could fax a copy to me? ;-))

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Genie
Date: 11 Nov 02 - 09:26 PM

Well, Ann, the Finale NotePad Sheet music should be in your email box by now. It has both the lyrics printed under the notes.

If there should be any need to do so, I can fax it to people. (I'm thinking of folks who don't have Finale.) But I won't do that without your permission (including any corrections you may make).

You should have my (not-so-hot quality) recording, with harmony, on your answering machine sometime this week.

I know my Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship folks will be delighted to hear it. They may even use it in their solstice celebration (as you have so graciously permitted).

Joy,

Genie

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 11 Nov 02 - 07:18 PM

After some suggestions from Genie (with the aim of making this more singable by a choir), I have decided to make the following changes:

Throughout the whole song:

change Raise up your voices to Raise all your voices

And in the last line, change Let sweet songs fill the air to Let glad songs fill the air.

Thank you for your patience. We now return you to your regularly scheduled insanity.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 10:21 PM

Genie (and anyone else who may know) --

I have Finale Notepad... But is there a way to save Finale files as midis, the way you can with Noteworthy?

Just wondering...

I look foreward to your version, Genie!

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Genie
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 10:07 PM

OK, Ann, I did the sheet music for your song in Finale, with more syncopation (which differs a bit from verse to verse, depending on the lyric), to see what you think of it. Now I'm trying to remember how to send it to you. I know I did this before with "Goldmine In The Sky," which I sent to MMario, but I don't remember how I did it! Maybe he'll remember.

I can send the Finale Notepad file as an email attachment, and I think anyone who downloads the Finale freeware can read it, even if they have Windows (I have Mac). I'll try that, anyway.

To get the software, go to Codamusic.com (I think).

Genie

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 02:25 PM

A couple of weeks ago, a friend sent me this thanksgiving prayer, which, she'd been told, dates back to ancient Ireland:

In the presence of my people
back to the beginning of life,
In the witness of the gods
and the ungods,
in homage to the immense
generosity of the universe
I give thanks
before my portion.

Today, I am particularly thankful that I have such talented friends, who are willing and so able to support my own talents.

Barry, that's a beautiful midi -- I really like the chord changes!

Jeri, thankyouthankyouthankyou for the website -- simple and elegant.

It's a good day, today.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Jeri
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 01:42 PM

Here it is.

The words are there, the dots are there, Barry Taylor's MIDI and a wee simple MIDI are there. (Barry, I was presumptuous, but your MIDIs usually say it's ok to swipe them as long as folks keep the attribution.)

If anyone has any problems at all with the page, please let me know.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: mg
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 12:41 PM

my email address is [e-mail] for this purpose..I'll print it out at work....

I am having a great time singing along with Barry's symphony of it..

I was just going to set up a little web site with the words and let someone else add the music sheet and the midi (?) but it sounds like Jeri is taking care of that...then it will all be together...it is too hard to refer someone to a Mudcat thread that will disappear at some point...

mg

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 12:05 PM

I'm getting the tune down but I keep going into the pub with no beer and we'll drink England dry and 1 2 3 jolly lads all in one row??

My sympathies, Mary.... I hate when that happens! I think it has more to do with muscle memory than anything else. Your diaphram, vocal folds, and tongue and lips are so used to teaming up to form a recoginized pattern, that they go ahead and finish it as soon as they see it starting...

I found "Old Rose and Crown" in the DT, and played the midi... you're right -- the two tunes are very similiar. As a matter of fact, I think the sequence of notes for "...fill the air with sweet song." is identical to "...as it sinks in the west." (pure coincidence, I assure you -- I'd never heard of "Old Rose and Crown" before you noted it).

Do you have any program like NoteWorthy Composer or Finale? If so, you could enter the score into that, and sing along as you watch the notes and words scroll across the screen... that might help.


Otherwise, if you pm me your email address, I could send you a .jpeg file to print out. Maybe it would help stick in your mind if you could get it through your eyes as well as your ear...

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Jeri
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 10:53 AM

Hang on Mary (Garvey) - will have something done today. Watch this space.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: mg
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 12:35 AM

Great..now my next hope is that the midi and the words will appear on the same page.....but I have written it down for myself but I am just not sure how to transmit this..

I'm getting the tune down but I keep going into the pub with no beer and we'll drink England dry and 1 2 3 jolly lads all in one row??

Barry, are you coming to Lake Sasamat? It would be great to meet you in person....you live in BC don't you?

mg

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Barry T
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 11:47 PM

Jeri> this is where I go into nit-picking mode -
Jeri> the B's in the 2nd track sound a bit odd
Jeri> when they come up against the C's in the 3rd.

I prefer to think of those as 'unresolved chords' that I create after midnight! ;-)
(Good ear, Jeri!)

Here's the new improved version 2. 'Hope it does the tune justice!

- - -

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 11:29 AM

I'm better now.

Me too. Coffee stirred into hot chocolate -- with extra milk powder for rich creaminess ...

Yummmmm!

As for the carol's tune... this first came into my head last year, so I don't remember exactly, but I think I was modeling it after "Joy to the World" -- the way it opens with a straight forward descending scale from high C to middle C, and uses that as the backbone for the rest of the melody.

But for some reason, the sequence of E, G, C just tickles my pleasure center... Perhaps because it reminds me of birdsong, particularly phoebes and chickadees, which were plentiful around my home when I was growing up...

I went back to listen to it again when the possibility of getting it published in a web zine came up, and realized that I had the rhythm all funkified, so I came here for help. And got it.

I love this place! Thanks, Max!

And thanks to all of you, who lent a helping hand, brain, and ear -- erm, pair of ears!

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: mg
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 11:25 AM

I forgot to say it recminds me of those drinking songs like the Old Rose and Crown and Drink England Dry, which is why I an hear it with dozens of peoplce sincging it...

mg

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: mg
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 11:24 AM

That is just great...I kan hardly (no see key) wait until Genie komces up with the sheet musik.   Is ctherecc oh my a cccc just poppeccd back on..somcetimces whcere cI cdon't want it...

is there a cchane of gectting this onto its own wecb pagec now so that wec can refer people to it?

mg

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Jeri
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 09:27 AM

Oops - "carol" not "hymn." I hadn't had any coffee either, but I'm better now.

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 09:05 AM

You said at the outset you wanted to write a hymn.

Did I?

:::Scratches head:::

I don't remember "The outset", but then again, I haven't had my coffee, yet! ;-)

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 09:02 AM

OOPS! I meant to hit "make a link", and missed... anyway, the link (and even my bookmark) didn't work, because of all the damned popup ads, but there is a webpage called "Willow Firesong's Pagan Yule Carol Collection" that comes up fairly high on Google searches with keywords "Pagan", "Yule" and "Carol" (#2 or 3, I think)

And she asks for submissions of new songs. So I was thinking submitting to her site might be a good way to get more people to see the song, as Mary G. suggested.

But those popups really get up my nose!

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 08:46 AM

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Jeri
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 08:31 AM

Wow - you know it's good if Barry sequences a MIDI of it! You said at the outset you wanted to write a hymn. I think the tune you've written is a classic hymn tune. Not surprising people want to take off with it!

Barry, it sounds wonderful, except - and this is where I go into nit-picking mode - the B's in the 2nd track sound a bit odd when they come up against the C's in the 3rd. You've got to sneak some 'illegal' stuff in and most times the ear will be fooled into not hearing the naughty notes. It may just be me that's hearing it.

In any case, I can't wait to hear the 'full-blown sequence' if this ain't it!!!

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 08:19 AM

How 'bout four part harmony, Ann? Here's my midi file.

Heh, heh. The Yuletide Barbarshop. I love it! But the diagonal stripes on those red and white jackets look a little dodgey. I mean, I know you were going for the candy cane look, but...

(Sorry, just got the sillies this morning. It really is lovely.)

I'll try to put my mind and mouse to create a full-blown sequence tomorrow.

That's not a full-blown sequence? How many stops are left to pull out?

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: Barry T
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 01:06 AM

How 'bout four part harmony, Ann? Here's my midi file.

I'll try to put my mind and mouse to create a full-blown sequence tomorrow. In the meantime sing along with the Mudcat String Ensemble!

- - -

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: mg
Date: 08 Nov 02 - 03:42 PM

yes...please get the sheet music...it was on one of the clickies but I don't know if ti is still there..the more people have to do in terms of cut and paste, finding web sites etc., the less likely they are to sing the song..so if MMario could do a midi and Geri could do a page, that would be great. I personally can sort of hear it as a loud drinking-type song..lots of people singing..

mg

Subject: RE: Winter Solstice Carol from CapriUni
From: CapriUni
Date: 08 Nov 02 - 12:44 PM

Do you still need/want any input about arrangements or how to put the tune on the web? I might be able to do a simple sheet music for it using Finale NotePad, if you like.

Well, actually, now that you mention it...

I have Noteworthty Composer (which is what I wrote this on), and that does very nice looking scores for print out.

I'm planning on submitting this to a Pagan Webzine called Scribes of the Goddess which will relaunch (we all hope) this coming Yule. I've already submitted "Magic is for Children", which is another song I wrote with Mudcatters' help, and the editor asked that I submit that one in the form of a jpeg of the score, and the lyrics... I scanned the printout of the score, and it came out looking very nice. So I'm planning on doing that with this one, too.

Howvever, I am curious about how others would arange this. Personally, I hear it only as a simple melody, sung a cappella. But if others hear it with harmonies and arangements, I'd be fascinated to know how that would sound, too... "The greatest gift that God hae gi' us" and all that.

Also, it might be fun to give this song a page of its own... especially if I can add an illustration of my own for the backdrop (I like to work with watercolor pencils, and I have a few images in my head when I sing this song, so....).

So thanks muchly for your kind offers.