Polish Christmas Carol?

Just started on this whistle lark. Moving at my own pace in my own space. Making progress - seem to go backwards sometimes, but there you go. Minor problem - let a colleague at work know I’d started. Don’t know what possesed me - my enthusiasm got the better of me I guess. He challenged me to take a whistle into work to ‘give them a tune’. Thinking quickly I suggested I should demonstrate my prowess (ha ha ha) by playing a couple of carols just before Christmas - I’d hoped it might all be forgotten - but no.

Well, I can just about manage some elementary renditions, no-ornamentation, just trying to play the notes cleanly and at about the right length to sound right - keep it simple but error free (please please error free) will be my tactic. That’s all I need to do to clear my obligation ( and save face).

What I’d really like though is to get hold of a simple Polish Christmas carol that I can play on my C or D whistle, nothing too complicated. I’ve found some stuff on the web but it tends to be either too complicated, in the wrong key (? - don’t know much about music - all I know is what I’ve picked up learning the whistle) or, well I’ve not found anything so far.
Can anyone help/point me in the right direction? All I want is a simple tune like silent night or the first noel.

I know this a multi-national NG so … am I in the right place?

Thanks.

Stephen

Found this one:It’s in D

http://acweb.colum.edu/users/agunkel/homepage/xmasweb/pzybtext.html

MarkB

Here’s how it goes… www.tullberg.com/ministerofbethlehem.mp3

Good luck playing,
Erik

p.s. not to confuse issues, but I played this on a C whistle. I could have played it with the same fingering on a D whistle and it would have sounded exactly the same, but a whole step higher.

“Infant Holy, Infant Lowly” is a Polish carol that also happens to be the first piece I ever played whistle on in church. I played it in G (on a D whistle). It’s a simple but very pretty carol.

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/n/infantho.htm

Beth

Stephen,
Mark and Erik are right on with that one.
Kazik, my Polish carpenter, friend taught that one to me when we were car pooling.

Beth’s is a good one too!
Mack

Hi Stephen…good to see another UK whistler on board :slight_smile:
They mostly don’t bite around here, but stay off the OT megatopics until you know people better…they can get seriously unmusical :roll:

Trisha

Thanks for your responses all

MarkB

Struggling a bit with the best notes to play out of the score - bit confused by lowest note as I can’t play it. I’ve tried playing it with all the notes moved up one but doesn’t sound right. I suppose I could play the thing an octave higher but, for the moment, it’s too ear piercing for the family to listen too.

Erik

You guessed my major problem with learning new tunes. I’m not a natural musician and can’t ‘read’ the tune in my head from the notes on the page. If I can get a handle on how it’s supposed to sound I find it much better - probably the same for most. (I am wary of blindly copying renditions, but I’m only a beginner copying is fine for me)

Beth

Infant Holy, Infant Lowly, - nice easy little tune that - I going drive the family mad practicing it - it sort of sticks in your head!

Mack,

Nobody asked why I particularly wanted a polish carol - it just so happens we’ve a new colleague who is half polish - quite attractive she is too! (I need all the help I can get nowadays!!)

Trisha,

Thanks for the advice

I’ve had experience of ‘obsessives/saddoes’ on other newsgroups, particularly on some of the Beeb NGs and rec.uk. It can be quite entertaining - if you really haven’t got anything better to do with your time. Most of the input I’ve seen on this NG over the months seems to be supportive/helpful and chatty.

Cheers all
Oh - and Merry Christmas (or maybe Happy Holidays - if you don’t celebrate)

Stephen