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Download an MP3 file of a performance of this work by the Wausau Lyric Choir, Lucinda Thayer, conductor.
Download a PDF file of the full score (piano version) of this composition. This score may be printed and duplicated for the purposes of performances. However, please send a message to performances@gwynethwalker.com, notifying us of the date/location of the performance.
Download a PDF file of the full score (organ version) of this composition. This score may be printed and duplicated for the purposes of performances. However, please send a message to performances@gwynethwalker.com, notifying us of the date/location of the performance.
Commissioned by The Wausau Lyric Choir – Wausau, Wisconsin
Ring Out, Wild Bells is a Christmas anthem for mixed chorus and piano on the poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The text celebrates the image of bells (represented by cascading "ringing" fourths in the piano accompaniment) to herald both the "going out" of the old year, the "coming in" of the new year, and the birth of Jesus.
Between the verses of the poem, the composer has inserted a refrain, "Come, Lord Jesus." This may be interpreted as the prayer of the awaiting world. The refrain repeats, intermingles with the verses, and ultimately expands into the triumphant, closing "Come, Lord Jesus, Come Emmanuel!"
Notes by the composer