James Pierpont

Jingle Bells Samba

A lively and catchy samba arrangement
Instrumentation: brass quartet tp-tp-tb-tb

Heiko Quistorf recently created several arrangements of well-known Christmas carols for four brass players, always giving the songs a new look. The classic "Jingle Bells" by James Lord Pierpont was arranged as a lively samba. An arrangement for saxophone quartet was also derived from this, which is compatible with the present edition for brass quartet.

The tempo does not have to be too fast. It is more important to bring out the dance-like quality, i.e. the half-measure accents and the light staccato quarters. In part C, the first saxophone can improvise a little, or the melody can be played around slightly, just as it is notated. Finally, there is a modulation so that part F is presented as a powerful climax in the new key. "Jingle Bells Samba" is a cheerful arrangement that is a lot of fun and almost encourages dancing, but presents the theme of the Christmas carol without much alienation.