Joy to the World

Most settings and arrangements of this familiar, festive Christmas carol are exhuberant—fortissimo, "Full organ!", etc. I wanted to create something different. This voluntary is joyful but sweet, quiet, even introspective.

Maintain a consistent legato touch and a consistent tempo throughout. The three continuous sections are delineated by poco ritards, followed by immediate returns to a tempo (measures 12 and 34). If the optional ending is chosen, move the final poco ritard to the last beat o…