Wassail Song

Martha Lynn Thompson's 3-6 octave transcription of the last movement of Leroy Anderson's "Suite of Carols for String Orchestra" features a brisk tempo (triple meter with the feeling of one beat per measure). The familiar Yorkshire Carol appears throughout as an unadorned melody in both treble and bass ranges, above a malleted bass accompaniment, beneath an embellished melody, and with melodic phrases playing off one another in the various bell ranges. After a grand pause in measure 123, the setting races to an exciting climax.