“Fantasy On A Tune From Coventry” is based on the tune “Coventry Carol”. Many believe this lovely tune is about Mary singing a lullaby to the baby Jesus. It in fact is something very dark. The lullaby is one of the only remaining parts of a 14th century Coventry Mystery Play entitled “The Pageant of the Shearman & Tailors”. It is a nativity play which spans Christ’s story from the “Annunciation” to “Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents”. In the play, the “Coventry Carol” is a lullaby sung by mothers of the doomed boys about to be slaughtered by Herod’s men. Quite a different sentiment than the lilting 6/8 gentle lullaby it has evolve into today. This arrangement tries to evoke the original intent of the tune, the angst and unbearable grief of the mothers as their sons are about to be slaughtered. It is a level 4 work with easy rhythmic and technical content, but with many exposed and independent parts hence level 4.

The MP3 recording and the one on the video are of a concert performance, and hence there are some quality issues with distortion. Overall, it is a much better representation of the the piece than a MIDI realization.

At present there are no “Worksheets” included with the purchase of this piece, but they will be included soon. If you purchase this before the “Worksheets” and uploaded, they will be emailed to you when complete.

Rehearsal work score examples (pages 1 & 2)

Coming Soon!

Sample Worksheet Part

Coming Soon!