Hark! a minor herald angel swings

"Hark! a minor herald angel swings" is based on "Hark! the herald angels sing" - melody by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (as adapted by William Hayman Cummings)

programme note:

When I first played around with ideas for this piece, I called it "Hark! the herald angels swing" - then I discovered that this title (and other similar ones) had, unsurprisingly, already been taken! Needing a title that wouldn't lead to confusion with other arrangements, I settled on "Hark! a minor herald angel swings" which, as well as usefully referencing the key of A minor, led to this imaginary scenario: while the major angelic host, and all their celestial consort, are busy with their official duties of singing "Glory to the new-born King" to the shepherds out in the fields, maybe a junior (a minor) heavenly employee went AWOL and found a pub with a piano in a backstreet in Bethlehem, and proceeded to entertain the locals with another rendition of the same carol. (Paul Ayres, October 2023)

• Pergoleswing

• instrumental - solo piano