Entre Le Boeuf et l’Âne Gris Between the Ox and the Grey Donkey arranged by Stephen Dunstone

Entre Le Boeuf et l’Âne Gris Between the Ox and the Grey Donkey Traditional French Carol For Slightly Mixed Ability 3-part harp ensemble Please click the "About this work & Performance Notes" heading below for further details This book is supplied as a score and set of 3 parts   Buy this music now £9.50 +p&p

Artist Profile and catalogue of works - Stephen Dunstone

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Entre Le Boeuf et l’Âne Gris
Between the Ox and the Grey Donkey
Traditional French Carol

There are three parts as follows::-

Melody
Melody / Countermelodies
Harmony

Entre le Boeuf et l’Âne Gris (literally Between the Ox and the Grey Donkey but often simply called The Ox and the Ass in English) is one of my favourite Christmas carols. I know I probably say that about an awful lot of carols, but I do find there is something particularly haunting about this one. For a long time I assumed it was always arranged as a harmonic minor piece (so, if it was in D minor, as my version is, all the Cs would be C#s). But when I came to write the countermelodies they seemed to want to include C§s, creating a more modal feel. I imagined all the Christmas carol purists tut-tutting and saying “We can’t have this!”, but more recently I’ve come across many arrangements, whether for choir or instruments, with a wide variety of lovely harmonisations, so I felt better about my own version, which uses a pattern similar to songs like Greensleeves, which is essentially modal but sharpens the leading note at cadences. I think it works well, and I hope you do too.

As with all my ensembles, even if a part could technically be played with just the right hand, I think it’s better to keep both hands in play: it can make things slightly easier, and it looks better in performance, too. This applies particularly to the Countermelodies part, and I’ve made some suggestions for use of hands with tails-up right / tails-down left. But, as always, feel free to ignore my suggestions and just do what feels right for you!

I’ve also suggested some dynamics, but please do whatever moves you and seems appropriate, as long as you follow the “Tender and expressive” instruction...

Title:	Entre Le Boeuf et l’Âne Gris Between the Ox and the Grey Donkey
Composer:	arranged by Stephen Dunstone
Instrumentation:	3 Lever or Pedal Harps
Level:	Slightly Mixed Ability but not difficult
Format:	A4 stapled score and set of 3 A4 parts
Weight:	115gm
ISMN:	979-0-57046-470-8
Our Ref:	SD1073
Publisher:	Creighton's Collection
Printer/Distributor:	Creighton's Collection
Edition/Year:	2025
Origin:	UK