Scored for Full Orchestra; Duration is 6 minutes
Below are the details regarding this piece.
If you are considering performing this work: Please contact me for purchase and rental information, to obtain a perusal score, or to receive a demo CD of my Holiday Pops music.
Duration & Difficulty Level
Featured Carols
Description
Quotes & Reviews
Instrumentation
Duration & Difficulty Level DURATION: ca. 6 minutes
DIFFICULTY LEVEL FOR ORCHESTRA: Difficult — recommended only for professional symphony or pops orchestras
Carols Featured in "A Festive Holiday"
"The Boar's Head Carol"
(Melody: Traditional English)
"The Holly and the Ivy"
(Melody: Traditional English)
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"
(Melody: John Baptiste Calkin, 1872)
"Patapan" (or, "Willie, Take Your Little Drum")
(Melody: Traditional French)
"O Christmas Tree"
(Melody: Traditional German)
"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"
(Melody: Traditional English)
"Deck the Halls"
(Melody: Traditional Welsh)
"Away in a Manger" (Kirkpatrick version)
(Melody: William J. Kirkpatrick, 1895)
Brief reprise of "The Boar's Head Carol"
(Note: This is an original work based on carols whose melodies are in the public domain. This work is copyright by Peter Bloesch, and all rights are reserved, including the right to perform, record, or broadcast the piece.)
This orchestral piece would make a great opening to your next holiday pops concert, and could serve as an alternative to the time-honored but somewhat overworked "Christmas Festival" by Leroy Anderson.
While this piece showcases eight familiar carols of the season, they are not the "usual suspects" (such as "Silent Night" or "Joy to the World"). Rather, it features fresh arrangements of less-often-heard carols, such as "The Boar's Head Carol," "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" and "Patapan."
"A Festive Holiday" provides quite a variety of moods and orchestrations packed into its seven-minute length — from the splashy fanfare opening of "The Boar's Head Carol," to the fugal treatment of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," all the way through to the soaring and inspirational arrangement of "Away in a Manger" (which then gives way to a brief reprise of the opening fanfare, ending the piece with a "big bang").
Fast-paced and colorfully orchestrated, this piece was designed to be a festive and crowd-pleasing concert-opener.
Quotes and Reviews
Click here for quotes and reviews of my Holiday Pops music.
3 Flutes (2nd & 3rd double on Piccolo), 2 Oboes, 1 English Horn, 3 Clarinets in Bb (3rd doubles on Bass Clarinet), 2 Bassoons, 1 Contrabassoon, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets in C, 3 Trombones (2 tenors and 1 bass), 1 Tuba
4 Percussionists: 1 timpanist (4 timps) ; 3 percussionists on the following instruments: Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Chimes, Vibraphone, Piatti, Suspended Cymbals, Sizzle Cymbal (suspended), Snare Drum, Triangle, Tambourine, Sleigh Bells, Mark Tree, Finger Cymbal
1 Harp
1 Electronic Keyboard, with the following sounds: acoustic piano, celeste, and harpsichord
Strings
