Adam – O Holy Night (Flute & Piano)

Following a bell-like introduction, the O Holy Night melody is heard in different colours, first on the flutes mid register, then in the piano bass, back to the flute and its higher register and then in a more chordal manner from the piano's treble. This arrangement by Rebecca Faith has a definite gradual growth in richness and emotion, climaxing at the key change where the flute is heard playing a very passion filled counter melody. All of Rebecca's Christmas Carol arrangements are fresh, exciting and uniquely crafted, and are very much for the concert platform rather than a sing-along or play-along at home with Dad playing the piano part. These beautiful arrangements require work on the part of both flautist and pianist, as with a demanding accompaniment they are very much a duo. The majority are for the advanced flautist, minimum grade 6-7 standard, as there are some complicated rhythms, flutter tonguing and technically challenging jazzy-style passages. Highly recommended and well received by audiences there is nothing else available like them, and so these challenging yet thoroughly enjoyable arrangements fill a gap in the market and are an effective and welcome addition to the repertoire, providing some festive music with a rather different flavour, away from the usual standard melody with accompaniment. The collection of 10 Christmas Carols was written for the flute and piano duo Tranquillo, who recorded them as their debut album Tranquillo Christmas in 2010, a CD that has attracted some excellent reviews and can be purchased for £10 (plus P&P) from www.tranquilloduo.com

Review: "O Holy Night is perhaps one of the most popular arrangements in Rebecca’s set of Christmas music. The opening is reminiscent of Christmas bells, then the flute takes the melody line, accompanied by gentle treble chords on the piano. The texture builds towards the 'chorus', where arpeggios and chords in the piano part give the music a rich sonority. The key change towards the end lifts the music, together with the decorated melody in the flute part. A beautiful arrangement that will have the audience humming along!" – Sarah Waycott & Hannah Mitchell of Tranquillo Duo, July 2013

Review: "Another charming arrangement of a Christmas Carol from Rebecca, and always nice to have a lesser-known carol to perform. The accompaniment is fairly straightforward and the parts fit together pretty easily. It sits well within the range of the flute covering all three octaves and is pleasant to listen to. This would suit a student of around grade 7 standard upwards for a school Christmas concert or a professional player looking for something festive for a Christmas party or as an encore for a concert during that season." – Dr. Rachel Smith DMA, MA, BMus (Hons), FTCL – October 2013

Review: "Don't you just love Christmas music? It is always wonderful to hear and play, I don't think we ever get sick of it, but sometimes it is good to have new arrangements and this is what we've got here. If you are Grade 5 standard and above, I'm sure you will enjoy exploring these excellent arrangements by Rebecca Faith. Each title is a separate edition, very well presented. The arrangements are varied in style and the piano parts not too difficult. If you have a performance coming up this Christmas, one of these will go down extremely well with the audience. They aren't just the tune with the piano accompaniment, but skilful arrangements with imaginative harmonies and key changes. Highly recommended." – Liz Goodwin on www.flutewise.com October 2013

Biography

Faith, Rebecca

Rebecca Faith was born in Aberdare, South Wales. She was brought up surrounded by music and was taught to play the piano from the age of two. Rebecca went on to study music at Cardiff University, graduating in 2007 with a BMus degree and obtaining a Masters degree in Music Composition the following year.Rebecca is now a freelance composer. Her passion is to write music that crosses the boundaries between genres and appeals to classical and non classical music lovers alike. In 2010 Rebecca was commissioned by the piano and flute duo Tranquillo to compose and arrange their debut album. The music attracted reviews from the British Flute Society and The Musicians Union. In 2012 Rebecca's music was performed at St David's Hall Cardiff as part of the Welsh BBC proms and also at the London Trafalgar Square St Martin in the Fields concert series. Rebecca also gives piano tuition and teaches music theory at Hebron Piano School. Being keen to combine both her teaching and composition skills she writes new contemporary educational piano music. She was commissioned by Alfred Music Publishing to arrange a collection of 60 national anthems in celebration of the London 2012 Olympics.