Product Description
The PDF full score sold here has all four parts included.
"Niño Lindo" is a folk song of Venezuela that depicts the manger
scene at Christmas. It may be translated as:
Lovely baby boy, I kneel before you. You are my God.
You have heavenly beauty, and are immaculate as God.
I offer you my life and soul joyously as I kneel before you.
Adios, dear little child. Adios, sweet One. Adios.
Lovely baby boy, I kneel before you. You are my God.
Program Note
This setting of "Niño Lindo" interprets the words of the folk song and
the actions of the children as suggested by the words. The program
follows this narrative:
It is Christmas in a quiet village. A guitar, marimba, and other instruments
are heard making music in the square. Inside the nearby church, a
manger scene is lit by candles. In the distance, children are heard singing,
"Niño lindo, ante ti me rindo . . ." Soon all the village children are in the
square, and then they enter the church to sing their praise and adoration to
the Christ child. Ending with a farewell of "Adios," they leave the church. As
they come outside, suddenly, a brilliant star shines over their heads with a burst
of melody. The star fades, and the village is again quiet at Christmas time.
Performance Note
As chamber music, no conductor is required, but is optional.
Of the four instruments, the marimba sets the tempo and marks the
beats.
The glissandi in the marimba and harp parts should not be quick and
zing-like but slow and mellow as possible. The sixteenth-notes in the
concluding measures (86 to end) depict the stars on Christmas Eve.
The speed of the guitar tremolos may vary as the performer sees fit.
The technique is to pick the lower note of the tremolo once with the
thumb, then pick repeatedly the upper note with three fingers.
This composition is effective in candle-light services on Christmas
Eve, or anytime in Advent and Epiphany, as well as recital performance.
An earlier version of this work (without marimba) was performed by
Shonda Roberts (flute). Susan Carol (Celtic harp), and Dr. Michael
Brennan (guitar) in 2025.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.