Players of Native American flute music will enjoy adding the five Christmas carols, Away in a Manger, What Child Is This?, The First Noel, Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella, and The Coventry Carol to their holiday repertoire. Musicians can click on each image to view lyrics and tabs.
Away in a Manger
This Christmas carol, first published in 1861, has a simple melody perfectly suited for the peaceful sound of the Native American Flute. It's difficult to get through the Christmas season without hearing some rendition of this beloved holiday tune.
What Child Is This
The melody for this popular carol is an English folksong from the sixteenth century called Greensleeves. The song’s lyrics were composed nearly three centuries later in 1865. The lyrics for this haunting tune depicts the entire Christmas story and is particularly moving on the native american flute.
The First Noel
This traditional English carol is thought to date back to the sixteenth century. Its lyrics beautifully depict the part of the shepherds and wisemen in the nativity story. Today, five hundred years later, “The First Noel” still retains a popular place in the songs of the season. What Child Is This?
Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella
This French carol is another dating back to the sixteenth century. It recalls the story of two milkmaids coming to the stable to milk their cows on Christmas morning. The two girls, surprised to find Baby Jesus asleep in the manger, ran to spread the good news. Even today in some parts of France, children dress up as shepherds and milkmaids and sing this carol on their way to midnight mass.
The Coventry Carol
This haunting lulla-by was preserved from a sixteenth century English nativity play.
Once flute players have mastered these five Christmas songs, they might want to check out tabs and sound files for five more carols including Silent Night, I Saw Three Ships, The Holly and the Ivy, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, and Of the Father’s Love Begotten. Musicians unfamiliar with the instrument, can find an introduction to the Native American flute, a brief tutorial on how to play the flute, and other information in the musical instruments section of Suite 101.
Christmas Carols (2004). Retreived from http://www.carols.org.uk on October 29, 2008.
Marcy Paulson - From the moment Marcy Paulson picked up a recorder in fourth grade music class, she was hooked. Since then, her passion for music has ...
