

                           - P R O G R A M -

                         Early Christmas Music

                   LULLAY.MID       "Lullay, lullow"
                   JOSEPH.MID       "Joseph est bien Mari‚"
                   RIURIU.MID       "Riu, riu, chiu"

               sequenced by John Kwasnik for General MIDI
                        Oakland, California 1995

          These were sequenced using the low-end Yamaha OPL4 synth in the
     Logitech SoundMan WAVE card; I hope it plays well on other synths.
     If the track mix is not right for your synth, I have included a
     single volume controller #7 message at the very beginning of each
     track, as well as a single pan controller #10 message.  These can be 
     adjusted in your sequencer software for the correct balance for your 
     synth.  Enjoy!


     "Lullay, lullow" - anonymous 14th century English carol

          The lyrics of this carol tell of a lullaby sung by Mary to her 
     baby, Jesus.  I used the flute and recorder patches for the two
     soprano vocal parts, plus the hammered dulcimer patch for the psal-
     tery part (this ancient instrument is somewhat like a high-pitched
     autoharp).  The arrangement is by Frank Harrison from his three-
     volume work NOW MAKE WE MERTHE - MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE CAROLS,
     published by Oxford University Press 1968, in volume two.


     "Joseph est bien Mari‚" - traditional French no‰l

          This arrangement of a folk tune was scored for two flutes by
     Nicolas Ch‚deville (1705-1782).  I added a guitar accompaniment in
     the MIDI sequence.  The tune was widely used by French baroque
     composers (then, as now, Christmas music sells well), and formed
     the theme of an entire Christmas mass by Marc-Antoine Charpentier.


     "Riu, riu, chiu" - anonymous 16th century Spanish villancico

          The lyrics are as sung by shepherds celebrating the Nativity.
     I used recorder patches for the chorus, and the cello patch for the
     baritone soloist.  I threw in some percussion and a glockenspiel.
     The original vocal arrangement is also by Frank Harrison in volume
     three of the above-mentioned work.

          May the Season bring you good music, good food, and good spirits!
