Midwinter Fantasy by Holst arr. Nathan Daughtry

In the Bleak Midwinter has always been one of my favorite Christmas songs. Having done an arrangement for solo marimba over 10 years ago in my first Yuletide Marimbist collection, it fun was to return to it for a fresh arrangement for percussion ensemble. In true “fantasy” fashion, this setting starts with a simple statement of the melody in the metallic keyboards against flowing triplets in the marimbas. The melody then travels through several contrasting moods and meters before returning to the simplicty of the opening measures.