Holiday Pops

Sunday, December 6, 2009 - 7:00pm at Meymandi Concert Hall

Join us for an evening of Holiday Music!

Program Notes

Dance of the Tumblers: Mainly known for his symphonic works, especially the popular symphonic suite Scheherazade as well as the Capriccio Espagnol and the Russian Easter Festival Overture, Rimsky-Korsakov left an oeuvre that also included operas, chamber works, and songs. Rimsky-Korsakov’s music is accessible and engaging, owing to his talent for tone-coloring and brilliant orchestration. Furthermore, his operas are masterful musical evocations of myths and legends. This fantastic story is based on a play by Ostrovsky on which Tchaikovsky had written an opera in 1873. Rimsky-Korsakov became enthusiastic about the story, Snow Maiden, in 1880. He extracted a suite from the opera comprising four movements. The first is the Introduction, an atmospheric prelude full of bird songs. Bird songs continue during the second, the Dance of the Birds, which is a song for chorus and orchestra. The third, called Cortege, is an unusual marching tune punctuated by bursts of three chords. The fourth is the well known Dance of the Tumblers, an energetic orchestral showpiece. In the celebrated Dance of the Tumblers, the “tumblers” are skomorokhi, who were troupes of multitalented outdoor entertainers. Seemingly in a salute to their skills, Rimsky-Korsakov casts his dance in a classical sonata form structure, complete with development section, invigoratingly intensified reprise, and a veritable whirlwind of a coda.

Veni, Veni, Immanuel: The advent hymn we all know as O Come, O Come, Immanuel was arranged in its modern form by Thomas Helmore and published in Hymnal Noted in 1856. Both the words and melody, however, predate this version by centuries. The words are based on a 9th century antiphon, one of the seven so called ‘O’ antiphons which were sung, one daily, during the last seven days before Christmas both before and after the Magnificat at Vespers. ‘O Emmanuel…’ was the last of the seven, sung on December 23rd. The tune, Veni Immanuel, is taken from the 15th century processional of French Franciscan nuns, part of the setting for the funeral hymn Libera Me. This arrangement aims to expand on the power and mystery of the original tune.

Russian Christmas Music: Alfred Reed was a 23 year old staff arranger for the 529th Army Air Corps Band when he was called upon to create what has become a masterpiece of the wind literature. It was in 1944, when optimism was running high with the successful invasion of France and Belgium by the Allied forces. A holiday band concert was planned by the city of Denver to further promote Russian-American unity with premiers of new works from both countries. Roy Harris was placed in charge and planned the second movement of his Sixth Symphony (the “Abraham Lincoln Symphony”) to be the American work. The Russian work was to have been Prokofiev’s March, Op. 99, but Harris discovered that it had already been performed in the United States (by Reed’s own organization). With just 16 days until the concert, Harris assigned Reed, already working for Harris as an aid, to compose a new Russian work for the concert. Scouring the Corp’s music library, Reed found an authentic 16th-century Russian Christmas Song “Carol of the Little Russian Children” to use for an introductory theme. Drawing on his investigations of Eastern Orthodox liturgical music for other thematic ideas, he completed the score of Russian Christmas Music in 11 days; copyists took another two days to prepare parts for rehearsal. The music was first performed on December 12, 1944, on a nationwide NBC broadcast. A concert performance was given in Denver two days later. In later years, Reed made minor changes to the instrumentation to suit a large ensemble, but tonight’s version is essentially the same as the original. The liturgical music of the Eastern Orthodox Church is entirely vocal, admitting no instrumental music into the services. Alfred Reed has captured the sonorities, rhythmic inflections, clarity, and flowing phrases of the human voice in his composition. Although the work is in the form of a single movement, four distinct sections can be recognized. The opening “Carol” sets a restrained and gentle mood. The chant from the trombones and trumpets climaxes into the “Antiphonal Chant” carried by the woodwinds. The rhythm picks up for the “Village Song,” which is presented in two bar phrases that rise and fall with the liturgy. The church bells herald the final “Cathedral Chorus” that builds in a steady crescendo, pausing for a soft and sonorous chorale, before continuing with the introduction of additional instruments until all of the colors and intensity of the celebration fill the hall.

Christmas in Europe: The carols of four countries are included in this selection: England (Nowell); Czechoslovakia ( Hajej Mynjej), better known in England as ‘Rocking”; Germany (Silent Night); and France (Iris). The finale is an invitation to the faithful to “Come and adore Him, Christ the Lord”.

Three Kings Swing: The “March of the Three Kings,” written I Provence in the 13th century, was made famous by George Bizet who used it in incidental music to Alphonse Daudet’s play, “L’Arlesienne.” The text tells the journey of the three kings who brought gifts to the Christ child. William Himes’ arrangement of this ancient carol begins with an air of solemnity and majesty but quickly is transformed to a rollicking swing tune complete with a sizzling jazz solo.

A Latin Christmas attempts to capture a ‘latin’ feel in its styling of three carols: ‘Mary’s Boy Child’, ‘Come, Children, Come Quickly’ and Gloria in Excelsis’. David Rowsell is a third generation Salvation Army musician and has been involved in SA banding for over 42 years, including 21 as a bandmaster.

Frosty the Snowman is a popular Christmas song written by Steve “Jack” Rollins and Steve Nelson and recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. Like Jingle Bells and several other songs about winter, Frosty the Snowman is considered to be a Christmas song despite not mentioning Christmas at all. This setting explores the melodic graces of the solo tuba.

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (sometimes with Coming changed to Comin’) is a Christmas song. It was written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor’s radio show in November 1934. It became an instant hit with orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music the next day and over 400,000 copies sold by Christmas. This version features solo cornet, and has some interesting interludes.