For several years I was privileged to teach voice lessons to five sisters, Alyson, Jessica, Nataly, Kelli, and Monica Bullock. They were talented musicians and had good voices. Their mother taught violin in the Suzuki method, and most of the girls were learning to play violin, as well learning to sing. Part of the joy of teaching these girls individually was also having them learn to sing with each other. We practiced duets and trios, but it was hard to find songs for five equal treble parts.
Their mother approached me with an idea. She wanted them to record an album for the grandparents for Christmas. Mary browsed the online music stores and came up with many songs for her girls to sing. Each would have a solo, and then they would sing the other songs in various combinations of voices -- duet, trio, quartet, and other.
She trusted me to play the piano parts and do the recording engineering, too. Some of the songs were upbeat and the octavos had ideas scored for piano, bass, drums and a color instrument or two. So, I knuckled down and created some accompaniments they could use for their album. It was an ambitious project, and I was very pleased with the Bullock girl's efforts, if I do say so myself.
One song that they sang was a version of "On a Sacred Still and Silent Night" that I rewrote for SSAA, piano and violin. I couldn't leave out a violin part for their mother Mary! (The violin part turned out so well that now I have it available for the SSATB version, too.)
It thrills me every year when I receive notice that the SSATB and the SSAA versions of my 3-hour Christmas song are sold. It is still hard for me to believe that a song that was born while I was waiting at a red light on a cold, grey December day in Maryland and was finished a mere 3 hours later. I am pleased that it can be sung now for Christmas all over the place.
Their mother approached me with an idea. She wanted them to record an album for the grandparents for Christmas. Mary browsed the online music stores and came up with many songs for her girls to sing. Each would have a solo, and then they would sing the other songs in various combinations of voices -- duet, trio, quartet, and other.
She trusted me to play the piano parts and do the recording engineering, too. Some of the songs were upbeat and the octavos had ideas scored for piano, bass, drums and a color instrument or two. So, I knuckled down and created some accompaniments they could use for their album. It was an ambitious project, and I was very pleased with the Bullock girl's efforts, if I do say so myself.
One song that they sang was a version of "On a Sacred Still and Silent Night" that I rewrote for SSAA, piano and violin. I couldn't leave out a violin part for their mother Mary! (The violin part turned out so well that now I have it available for the SSATB version, too.)
It thrills me every year when I receive notice that the SSATB and the SSAA versions of my 3-hour Christmas song are sold. It is still hard for me to believe that a song that was born while I was waiting at a red light on a cold, grey December day in Maryland and was finished a mere 3 hours later. I am pleased that it can be sung now for Christmas all over the place.
In 2020, during the COVID restrictions, my extended family in Utah created this video of "On a Sacred, Still and Silent Night" SSATB, with Piano and Violin, also with Matt Bailey playing guitar.
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