Once in Royal David’s City
Traditionally, this carol is the first one performed at the famous ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ service held at Kings College Chapel, Cambridge. As such, a chorister usually sings the first verse as a solo and we wanted to keep this alive for the string quartet as it is an effective way of experiencing this well loved carol.
In our arrangement, the viola plays the first verse as a solo and then is joined by the other instruments in full harmony. In the second verse, the quartet is heard playing some shimmering chords with a technique called ’sol ponticello’ which means to play with the bow very close to the bridge. This creates a slightly metallic, frosty feel that hopefully conjures up freshly laid snow on a winters night!
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