Program for December 17, 2017 First Baptist Church
Videorecording of this concert
We Need a Little Christmas (1966).................................................................................................................................... Jerry Hermann (1931)
arr. (2009) Ted Ricketts
Angela Lansbury was the first to sing this song, when she played the title role in the Broadway musical, Mame. In the story, after Mame had experienced the Wall Street Crash of October 24, 1929, and faced personal financial disaster, she determined that everybody would feel better if they would simply launch the Christmas season early.
On a Catalonian Carol, El Noi de la Mare ............................................................................................................................................ traditional
arr. (2016) Randall D. Standridge
Catalonia is an autonomous community in the northeast corner of Spain, bordered on the north by France, and on the west by the Mediterranean Sea. The title of the carol that is the basis of Randall Stanridge’s band arrangement is El Noi de la Mare, which translates as “The child of the mother.” The lyrics ask what we should give to the Mother’s Child? It suggests raisons, figs, nuts, olives, honey, and fresh cheese.
Selections from the Nutcracker Suite (1892)........................................................................................... Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
arr. (1992) Robert Longfield
1. Chinese Dance
2. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
3. Russian Dance
In March 1892 Russian composer Tchaikovsky presented eight musical numbers drawn from his yet-to-be performed Nutcracker Ballet. The setting of the ballet is that of a child’s dream following a family Christmas party.
Salvation is Created (1912)............................................................................................................................... Pavel Tschesnokoff (1877–1944)
arr. (1957) Bruce H. Houseknecht
Pavel Tchesnokoff trained and taught at the Moscow Conservatory. His Op. 25, No. 5, the communion hymn “Salvation is Created,” is based on an Orthodox liturgical chant. It simply relates, “Salvation is created, in midst of the earth, O God, O our God. Alleluia.”
March of the Toys (1903)........................................................................................................................................... Victor Herbert (1859–1924)
arr. Otto Langey and Herbert L. Clarke
ed. (1999) R. Mark Rogers
The operetta, Babes in Toyland, relates the story of orphans who flee their problematic lives, arriving in a fantasyland. Within this operetta is this grand march, which was subsequently published for theater orchestra, and then for the Sousa Band.
A Christmas Festival (1950)................................................................................................................................... Leroy Anderson (1908–1975)
When Bostonian Leroy Anderson was a graduate student at Harvard he directed and crafted several clever arrangements for the Harvard Band. His work came to the attention of another music director in town, Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops. Over the next several years Fiedler premiered a number of Anderson’s excellent miniatures such as The Typewriter, Sleigh Ride, and Blue Tango. His A Christmas Festival has become a favorite holiday medley, with “Deck the Halls,” “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen,” “Good King Wenceslas,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Silent Night,” “Jingle Bells,” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
Old Scottish Melody (Auld Lang Syne)................................................................................................................................................ traditional
arr. (1977) Charles A. Wiley
Auld Lang Syne is a Robert Burns poem dating from 1788, the lyrics reflecting a sentiment of cherishing the past as we move toward the new. The best translation of the title is, “for the sake of old times.”
arr. (2009) Ted Ricketts
Angela Lansbury was the first to sing this song, when she played the title role in the Broadway musical, Mame. In the story, after Mame had experienced the Wall Street Crash of October 24, 1929, and faced personal financial disaster, she determined that everybody would feel better if they would simply launch the Christmas season early.
On a Catalonian Carol, El Noi de la Mare ............................................................................................................................................ traditional
arr. (2016) Randall D. Standridge
Catalonia is an autonomous community in the northeast corner of Spain, bordered on the north by France, and on the west by the Mediterranean Sea. The title of the carol that is the basis of Randall Stanridge’s band arrangement is El Noi de la Mare, which translates as “The child of the mother.” The lyrics ask what we should give to the Mother’s Child? It suggests raisons, figs, nuts, olives, honey, and fresh cheese.
Selections from the Nutcracker Suite (1892)........................................................................................... Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
arr. (1992) Robert Longfield
1. Chinese Dance
2. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
3. Russian Dance
In March 1892 Russian composer Tchaikovsky presented eight musical numbers drawn from his yet-to-be performed Nutcracker Ballet. The setting of the ballet is that of a child’s dream following a family Christmas party.
Salvation is Created (1912)............................................................................................................................... Pavel Tschesnokoff (1877–1944)
arr. (1957) Bruce H. Houseknecht
Pavel Tchesnokoff trained and taught at the Moscow Conservatory. His Op. 25, No. 5, the communion hymn “Salvation is Created,” is based on an Orthodox liturgical chant. It simply relates, “Salvation is created, in midst of the earth, O God, O our God. Alleluia.”
March of the Toys (1903)........................................................................................................................................... Victor Herbert (1859–1924)
arr. Otto Langey and Herbert L. Clarke
ed. (1999) R. Mark Rogers
The operetta, Babes in Toyland, relates the story of orphans who flee their problematic lives, arriving in a fantasyland. Within this operetta is this grand march, which was subsequently published for theater orchestra, and then for the Sousa Band.
A Christmas Festival (1950)................................................................................................................................... Leroy Anderson (1908–1975)
When Bostonian Leroy Anderson was a graduate student at Harvard he directed and crafted several clever arrangements for the Harvard Band. His work came to the attention of another music director in town, Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops. Over the next several years Fiedler premiered a number of Anderson’s excellent miniatures such as The Typewriter, Sleigh Ride, and Blue Tango. His A Christmas Festival has become a favorite holiday medley, with “Deck the Halls,” “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen,” “Good King Wenceslas,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Silent Night,” “Jingle Bells,” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
Old Scottish Melody (Auld Lang Syne)................................................................................................................................................ traditional
arr. (1977) Charles A. Wiley
Auld Lang Syne is a Robert Burns poem dating from 1788, the lyrics reflecting a sentiment of cherishing the past as we move toward the new. The best translation of the title is, “for the sake of old times.”
