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God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen has been one of the most popular carols in the world for so many centuries that for many people it epitomizes the spirit of Christmas.

Beginning as a secular song in reaction to fifteenth century church music, it has since become one of the mainstays of any church carol service around the world.

Charles Dickens gives to the hapless carol singer in A Christmas Carol who tries to remind Scrooge of the joys of Christmas: "at the first sound of "God bless you merry, gentlemen! May nothing you dismay! Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost"

In this version, this familiar and much loved melody has become the starting point for an exquisite instrumental arrangement .

The centre ground is taken up by the powerful meditative variations of the cello and trumpet, while the tender piano accompaniment keeps the delicate notes of the familiar melody falling soft as snow on the deeper tones of the other instruments.