CHRISTMAS SONCELLO JINGLE BELLS Carol – 8 CELLOS (easy) – also possible with 4, 5, 6 or 7 Cellos

Other Identification:
“Jingle Bells” is one of the most commonly sung Christmas songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont. It is an unsettled question where and when Pierpont originally composed the song that would become known as “Jingle Bells”. It was published under the title “The One Horse Open Sleigh” in September 1857. Although it has no original connection to Christmas, it became associated with winter and Christmas in the 1860s and 1870s, and it was featured in a variety of parlour song and college anthologies in the 1880s.
It has been claimed that the song was originally written to be sung by a Sunday school choir for Thanksgiving, or as a drinking song! However, these claims are not supported by any primary sources. According to more recent research, the song was originally written as a minstrel song satirizing Black participation in northern winter activities.
The “Jingle Bells” tune is used in French and German songs, although the lyrics are unrelated to the English lyrics. Both songs celebrate winter fun, as in the English version. The French song, titled “Vive le vent” (“Long Live the Wind”), was written by Francis Blanche. There are several different German versions of “Jingle Bells”, including Roy Black’s “Ein kleiner weißer Schneemann”.
Amongst historical recordings are to be found:
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra / Glenn Miller and His Orchestra / Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters recorded “Jingle Bells” for Decca / Les Paul / House of Mouse version / Kimberley Locke.
“Jingle Bells” was one of the first songs to be broadcast from space, in a Christmas-themed prank by Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra in 1965.