"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, composed by Mykola Leontovych with lyrics created Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on a folk chant known in Ukrainian as "Shchedryk". Wilhousky's lyrics and the English name are copyrighted, although the original musical composition is not.
The song is recognized by a four-note ostinato motif (see image to the right). It has been arranged many times for different genres, styles of singing and settings and has been covered by artists and groups of many genres: classical, metal, jazz, rock, and pop. The piece has also been featured in films, television shows, and parodies.
Read more about Carol Of The Bells: Musical Analysis
Famous quotes containing the words carol of the, carol of, carol and/or bells:
“Ten for the Ten Commandments
Eleven for the ‘leven that went to heaven
Twelve for the twelve Apostles”
—Unknown. Carol of the Numbers (l. 30–32)
“Ten for the Ten Commandments
Eleven for the ‘leven that went to heaven
Twelve for the twelve Apostles”
—Unknown. Carol of the Numbers (l. 30–32)
“Prose—it might be speculated—is discourse; poetry ellipsis. Prose is spoken aloud; poetry overheard. The one is presumably articulate and social, a shared language, the voice of “communication”; the other is private, allusive, teasing, sly, idiosyncratic as the spider’s delicate web, a kind of witchcraft unfathomable to ordinary minds.”
—Joyce Carol Oates (b. 1938)
“See the wild birds on the wing,
Hear the bells that sweetly ring,
When you feel like singin’, sing—
Keep a-goin’!”
—Frank Lebby Stanton (1857–1927)