The Holly and the Ivy - for Harp and Ukulele

One of my favorite Christmas carols, The Holly and the Ivy is arranged here for harp and ukulele.  It runs about 1 minute.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Window with Ivy Tendrils, German stained glass, circa 1819
2 - Heigh Ho Holly, book illustration by Walter Crane, 1900
3 - Battle for Wesnoth, elvish style digital portrait, 2011
4 - Holly, book illustration by Laura Coombs Hills, 1890
5 - Pia de Tolomei, detail of painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, circa 1870
6 - Janvier, print from calendar by Samuel Grasset, 1896
7 - Scribner's for Xmas, poster print by Louis Rhead, 1895
8 - Harper's Bazar Xmas 1894, magazine cover, 1894
9 - Winter, book illustration by Florence E. Dudgeon, 1800s

We Wish You a Merry Christmas for Harp & Ukulele

Merry Christmas, everybody!  Here's a favorite carol of the season, arranged for ukulele and harp by my friend, Mary Roman and myself. A minute and a half of fun.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Christmas Card by Jenny Nystrom, Norway, circa 1900
2 - A Christmas Carol, newspaper illustration, Allentown, PA, 1900
3 - Christmas Eve, chromolithography print published by J. Hoover, 1880
4 - Frohliche Weihnachten, post card, Germany, 1906
5 - Frohliche Weihnachten, post card, Germany, 1906
6 - Buon Natale, post card, Italy, 1913
7 - Now Is a Goodly Feast Outspread, book illustration by Eliza F. Manning, London, 1894
8 - The Coming of Father Christmas, book illustration by Eliza F. Manning, London, 1894

Coventry Carol for Harp & Ukulele

This haunting lullaby was part of the nativity plays performed in Coventry, England by the city's guilds for centuries.  The melody goes at least back to 1591 when it was written down with the words to be sung by three mothers of Bethlehem.  Arranged for ukulele and harp by my friend, Mary Roman and myself, this is about 2 minutes of lutey-harpy poignant lullaby.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Nativity Scene, woodcut print by Lucille Oille, 1945 presumably
2 - When Life Is Young, by Mary Elizabeth Mapes Dodge, book illustration, 1894
3 - Armenian, book illustration by Franz Burger, 1897
4 - Scene in the Jewish Quarter of Constantine, painting by Theodore Chasseriau, 1851
5 - Centuries of Oppression, Persecution, and Ruin, book illustration, 1899
6 - A Flood, painting by John Millais, 1870
7 - The Young Mother, painting detail by Gerrit Dou, 1658
8 - At the Cradle, painting by Albert Neuhuys, before 1914
9 - Ix Voto, votive painting from Pfarrkirch Maria Geburt, Germany, 1767
10 - Ex Voto Gott Sie Dank, votive painting from Pfarrkirch Maria Geburt, Germany, 1867

Silent Night - for Ukulele & Harp

 

Here's another carol arranged collaboratively by my ukulele-friend, Mary, and me. It's a tinkly-pretty uke & harp version of Silent Night, and it runs just over 2 minutes.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Christmas postcard, Italy, 1940
2 - Merry Christmas, postcard, Germany, 1902
3 - Nativity postcard, Norway, 1912
4 - Merry Christmas, postcard, Germany, 1908
5 - A Warm Christmas Greeting, postcard, Germany, 1917
6 - Merry Christmas, postcard, Germany, 1904
7 - Winter, postcard by Gino Salviatti, Italy, 1948
8 - Christmas postcard, Norway, 1909
9 - The Head of the Herd, postcard by Harry Payne, 1909
10 - Christmas Wishes, postcard, circa 1905
11 - A Merry Christmas, postcard, Russia, circa 1908
12 - Merry Christmas, postcard, Germany, 1913
13 - Merry Christmas, postcard, Norway, 1892
14 - Wishing You a Joyful Christmas, postcard, circa 1905
15 - Merry Christmas, postcard, Germany, 1909
16 - Best Christmas Wishes, Christmas card, North Carolina, date unkn.
17 - Merry Christmas, Christmas card by Jenny Nystrom, Norway, circa 1910
18 - Merry Christmas, postcard, Italy, 1940

What Child Is This - for Ukulele & Harp

 

This year, my ukulele-playing friend, Mary, and I have been arranging Christmas music for baritone uke and harp.  Our first was What Child Is This, to the tune of Greensleeves, and it has a great, lutey, stringy sound.  It runs about 2 minutes.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Virgin Mary of Hoshiv, copy of icon, Ukraine
2 - Adoration of the Shepherds, a 1905 copy of an anonymous 15th century painting, Siena, Italy, circa 1450
3 - The Star of Bethlehem, watercolor by Edward Burne Jones, England, circa 1885
4 - Nativity, fresco by Sandro Botticelli, Italy, circa 1476
5 - Adoration of the Christ Child by the Shepherds, engraving by Johannes Bourgois, Belgium, circa 1600
6 - Illumination from the Trivulzio Book of Hours, Belgium, circa 1470
7 - Adoration of the Shepherds, painting by Gerard van Honthorst, Netherlands, circa 1622
8 - Adoration of the Shepherds, painting by Josefa de Obidos, Portugal, 1669
9 - Black Madonna of Czestochowa, tapestry in Phillipines church
10 - Mystical Nativity, painting by Sandro Botticelli, Italy, 1500
11 - Scene from the Life of Jesus, fresco by Johannes Zick, Germany, 1746
12 - The Virgin with Angels, painting by William Adolph Bourguereau, France, 1900
13 - St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi in Adoration, painting by Josefa de Obidos, Portugal, 1647