The First Noel

The second piece in the concert is entitled The First Noel. It is a fairly new arrangement of the familiar Christmas Carol, written by Yukiko Nishimura (see below) in 2025.

“The First Nowell (also spelled Noel)” is of Cornish origin. Its current form was first published in Carols Ancient and Modern (1823) and Gilbert and Sandys Carols (1833), both of which were edited by William Sandys and arranged and edited by Davies Gilbert (who also wrote extra lyrics) for Hymns and Carols of God. “Nowell” is an Early Modern English synonym of “Christmas” from French Noël, “the Christmas season”, ultimately from Latin natalis [dies] “[day] of birth”. The word was regularly used in the majority of carols in the Middle Ages until the early modern period; “Nowell sing we now all and some” (Trinity Carol Roll) and “Nowel – out of youre slepe arise and wake” (Selden Carol Book) being 15th century examples. As a result, the word also came to be used to mean a Christmas song or carol.

The melody of “The First Nowell” is unusual among English folk melodies in that it consists of one musical phrase repeated twice, followed by a refrain which is a variation on that phrase. All three phrases end on the third of the scale. Writing in the Journal of the Folk-Song Society in 1915, Anne Gilchrist notes it was not recorded prior to Sandys’ publication. She speculated based on a set of church gallery parts discovered in Westmorland that the tune may have had its origin as a treble part to another carol “Hark, hark, what news the angels bring”; her suggestion was that the treble part was passed down orally and was later remembered as the melody rather than a harmony part. A conjectural reconstruction of this earlier version can be found in The New Oxford Book of Carols.

In modern times, “The First Nowell” is usually performed in a four-part hymn arrangement by the English composer John Stainer, first published in his Carols, New and Old in 1871.

This new arrangement differs from past traditional settings with the addition of an originally composed introduction (quite evocative of the pastoral nature of the carol). The tune is then passed to just about every section of the band, with beautifully written countermelodies set against it. The final phrase is repeated three times before the arrangement settles to a gentle repose.

Yukiko Nishimura, Composer/Pianist, was born in Japan and graduated from the Tokyo University of Arts in 1990. In 1991, she began private study with Dr. Alfred Reed at the University of Miami and in 1993 she continued her studies with Dr. Richard Danielpour at Manhattan School of Music. Among her honors, are the special mention at the 15th and 26th International Competition for Original Composition for band in Corciano, Italy and the 6th Aoyama Award.

Since 1996, she has given concerts consisting entirely of her own music in Japan. She gave a solo piano recital at New York Public Library, Donnell Library Center in 2003. In 2005, the commissioned work for the first silent film in the United States Edison’s 1910 Frankenstein for string quartet was premiered in Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania by Covington String Quartet. The music for the silent film The Water Magician directed by Kenji Mizoguchi in 1933 was premiered in 2007. In 2010, a theatrical work Fantasy of Kenji based on the stories by Kenji Miyazawa was premiered. In 2014, she collaborated on a Japanese traditional theater work, Noh play, as a composer and a pianist. In 2017, one of her piano works was performed by the famous American pianist Sara Davis Buechner at Carnegie Hall’s Weille Recital Hall. In 2020, a theatrical work Chico was premiered, of which she was involved as a composer. In recent years, she has been nominated for the 8th, 9th, and 10th Hollywood Music in Media Award.

Ms. Nishimura has received numerous commissions and has composed for piano, marimba, percussion, chamber groups, concert band, string orchestra, and full orchestra. She has also been active as a pianist and an arranger.

The music for The First Noel was provided for the band

by Ross Fjermedal and Susan Evans.