Carol Symphony

A Carol Symphony, Hely-Hutchinson’s best-known work, is composed in four movements. The first, Adeste Fideles, is arranged in the form of a Bach Chorale with brass taking the Vocal lines and Strings skittering underneath. The second movement gives God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’s minor tonalities a Russian feel. The third uses the Coventry Carol and The First Nowell as its base, with particularly haunting harp theme. In the final movement, Here We Come A-Wassailling appears as well as a fugal rendering of Adeste Fideles. Victor Hely-Hutchinson was a child prodigy who went on to have a successful career as a conductor, pianist and accompanist as well as a composer and wasmostly known for his works on the theme of Christmas melodies and his settings of children’s nursery rhymes.