Sheet Music: Winchester Old

TitleWinchester Old
Alternate titlesWhile Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
The Vision of the Shepherds
Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire
ComposerTraditional
InstrumentationFlute quartet
KeyF major
RangeC4–D6
Time signature4/4
Tempo92 BPM
Performance time0:45
Difficulty leveleasy
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (47 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (352 kB)
Play-along accompanimentMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (387 kB)
Date added2010-12-14
Last updated2010-12-14
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 1.8 (above average)
Categories
Christmas carols, Hymn tunes, Traditional/Folk

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Tuesday 14 December 2010

Tune of the Day: While Shepherds Watched (British Version)

A Christmas carol, arranged for flute quartet

While in the United States the carol “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” usually pairs up with a melody (“Christmas”) originally composed by Handel, in the United Kingdom and Canada the standard is an anonymous 16th-century tune known as “Winchester Old”. This tune first appeared in print in The Whole Booke of Psalmes (1592) by London music publisher Thomas East (also spelled Este). The melody was subsequently rearranged by William Henry Monk sometime before 1874.