This arrangement of Gruber’s timeless carol is warm and gentle. The first two verses are accompanied by gentle arpeggiated figures, leading to a third and final verse which is given profound depth through its largely unaccompanied scoring. The carol was recorded by the Cambridge Singers, directed by John Rutter, on the The John Rutter Christmas Album (Collegium Records CSCD 510).
Conductor’s scores and instrumental parts are available at the OUP link below, as is Rutter’s alternative unaccompanied arrangement.
Orchestration: 2 fl, ob, 2 cl in A, 2 hns in F, hp, str