MUSIC LITERACY FACT SHEET

TITLE

1. The Hills Are Bare at Bethlehem

2. Based on the tune, Prospect by Graham

3. From Southern Harmony, by W. Walker. This is a book comprised of Lutheran worship music.

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STYLE PERIOD/GENRE

1. Sacred – Music that is composed or performed for a religious use, or through religious influence.

2. The text is an Early American Hymn from the 1800’s, while this choral arrangement comes from the 1970’s when Ralph Johnson adapted it for an SATB choir.

3. The piece is mainly a cappella, except for some added instrumentation from the wind chimes and the flute.

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COMPOSER/ARRANGER/EDITOR

1. Ralph Johnson, arr.

2. This tune, by Graham, was originally set to three different texts. These were; “The Lone, Wild Bird”, “How Wonderful the Three-in-One”, and “Creating God”. Different authors wrote each these texts.

3. Royce J. Sherf wrote the text of “The Hills Are Bare at Bethlehem”, and set it to the tune, originally composed by Graham.

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COMPOSER INFO

1. Director of Music at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Minnesota

2. St. Olaf College, B.A. Music Composition and Theory

3. University of Minnesota, M.A. Music Composition and Theory

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TEXT

1. Royce J. Sherf

2. This text is published in the Lutheran Book of Worship. This hymnal was founded in the early stages of the Lutheran religion in the United States, back in 1888.

3. This text is only 1 of 9 that can be found using this same melody.

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SOUND

1. This is an SATB arrangement, with the melody being complimented by three other voices singing in harmony.

2. Wind chimes are written into the score as the only accompaniment, but we have added a flute as well.

3. The texture of this piece grows more complex with each verse. Each new verse brings forth more movement in the harmony.

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HARMONY

1. The harmonies in this piece begin by simply adding subtle chordal changes to compliment the melody. As the climax is approached in verse three, the harmonic voices speak much more expressively, to draw out the emotion of the text.

2. In the majority of this piece, the harmony is build using major triads.

Major triad – A chord having a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. (In other words, a major 3rd interval, with a minor 3rd interval on top).

3. The harmony is used to add emphasis to the text, and create greater interest to the piece.

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MELODY

1. The melody builds to a climax, and fades away with every 4-measure phrase.

2. The melody is introduced by a soloist, and is then passed on to the choir. In verse 2, then, the melody is sung by the both the tenors and the basses. In verse 3, the melody is then passed again. The Altos take it from the men, and then the sopranos take the melody from m.47 to the end.

3. The melody uses the pentatonic scale. Pentatonic scale – A musical scale consisting of just 5 notes. These scales are commonly found in spirituals, such as “Amazing Grace”.

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RHYTHM

1. The simple rhythmic patterns used in this piece can be felt as a triple meter (1 – 3 and 1 – 3 and 1 – 3 and).

2. The emphasis of each measure is placed on beat 1.

3. There is repetition of the main theme throughout the piece.

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GROWTH/FORM

1. Strophic – A form where there are multiple verses, all set to the same melody.

2. There are three verses, each of which grows in intensity until the climax in verse 3.

3. The “Amen” section at the end is the standard for most sacred choral pieces. This brings the whole piece to resolution with a large ritardando leading to a landing on the tonic (home base).

Ritardando – To slow down gradually.

Resolution – A release from the tension built up throughout the piece.

Tonic – The root of the scale (Do).

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TIME SIGNATURE

1. ¾

2. Feels almost like a waltz

3. There are 3 beats per measure, with the quarter note receiving the beat.

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KEY SIGNATURE

1. G Major

2. There is one sharp in the key signature.

3. You can find “Do” by looking at the last sharp in the key signature and calling it “Ti”. Here, the last sharp is an F. If F# is “Ti”, than G is “Do”.

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NOTEWORTHY

1. This piece is mostly sung a cappella, except for the added accompaniment of the wind chimes and the flute.

2. The melody based off of the tune Prospect, by Graham and from the book Southern Harmony by W. Walker.

3. The original tune as found in “Southern Harmony”, uses shape notes rather than modern notation. Shape notes were used to help the monks in the church to be able to read music with more ease. This is similar to today’s solfedge, where each shape (or syllable) has it’s own scale degree.