What Child is This? for French Horn Quartet | Arr. James M. Guthrie

What Child Is This?, arranged for French horn quartet by James M. Guthrie. Explore French horn chamber music, horn-quartet repertoire, traditional Christmas music, and sheet music information below. What Child Is This? Traditional English melody (“Greensleeves”) - For French Horn Quartet “What Child Is This?” pairs the sixteenth-century English melody “Greensleeves” with a Christmas text William Chatterton Dix wrote around 1865. Published in 1871 with John Stainer’s harmonization in Christmas Carols New and Old, the carol transforms an older secular song into a meditation on the Nativity. Its opening question—identifying the child asleep on Mary’s lap—finds its answer in the refrain: “This, this is Christ, the King.” For a French horn quartet, the melody offers an opportunity to explore the carol’s contemplative character through sustained phrasing and a blended, resonant sound. The four-horn medium lends itself to a choir-like treatment, allowing the familiar tune to speak without words. The melody’s gentle lilt and expressive contours invite an interpretation that balances the intimacy of a lullaby with the quiet dignity of a hymn.