Patapan
French Christmas carol arranged by Kevin Weed for choir :
Soprano/Bass, Alto/Tenor, to accommodate younger and changing voices.
In the French Burgundian dialect,
With a unique accompaniment of penny whistle and drum.
Purchaser may print/copy parts for the ensemble.
One ensemble per purchase, please.
Please do not post online for public access.
Your receipt email will have links for you to download your PDFs:
- Choir score
- Whistle
- Drum
This arrangement of the familiar song Patapan should be fairly simple and quick to learn, even while having unique features, and facilitating unchanged voices and new singers.
This arrangement uses the original tune and lyrics, written in 1720, by Bernard de La Monnoye, in the French Burgundian dialect. He is recalling earlier times of revelry.
This arrangement uses only the first verse from the original song:
Guillô, pran ton tamborin;
Toi, pran tai fleúte, Rôbin!
Au son de cé instruman
Turelurelu, patapatapan,
Au son de cé instruman
Je diron Noei gaiman.
The sense of the original 3-verse song is: Willy and Robin play your drum and help us celebrate Christmas, as in olden days instruments were used to praise the high kings.
Sopranos and basses are together, in octaves.
Tenors sing in unison with altos.
A simple drum with a soft mallet, not with snares, or any hand drum would work. Make a difference between the sound of accompanying and soloing.
If you want to simplify the drum part, the simple rhythm in bar 1 would work for most of the piece.
The flute part was written for D penny whistle, with some ornaments, ideas to get you started improvising your own. Flute, piccolo or perhaps even recorder would work, or perhaps some other folk flute, or keyboard sound. Flutes and drums cross the ages and nationalities.
Have fun! Add a dance!