What Child Is This

This modern arrangement of “What Child Is This” explores the carol through a combination of refreshing jazzy sounds and dramatic piano writing. At the early advanced level, the piece begins with a mysterious, quiet introduction, which transitions into a syncopated rhythm that accompanies the first entrance of the melody, played by the right hand in expressive sixths. Throughout the arrangement, the melody undergoes a series of variations, with sixteenth-note decorations eventually spilling into a faster and pianistic section, which then leads toward a powerful climax with glorious octaves in the melody, rich bass notes, and triumphant inner voices. The music then fades away as quietly as it began—creating a musical journey that begins and ends with the hushed anticipation of the brilliant joys of the Christmas miracle to come.