Johan Strauss Sr
Arr. Norman Richardson
Strauss was commissioned to write the march in 1848 to commemorate Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz victory at the Battle of Custoza.
When it was first played in front of Austrian officers, they spontaneously clapped and stamped their feet when they heard the chorus. This tradition, with quiet rhythmic clapping on the first iteration of the melody, followed by thunderous clapping on the second, is kept alive today by audience members when the march is played in Vienna.
Overture to a Winter Festival
James Curnow
James Curnow was born in 1943 in Port Huron, Michigan. He now lives in Nicholasville, Kentucky where he is president, composer, and educational consultant for Curnow Music Press, Inc.
Mary Poppins
Richard and Robert Sherman
Arr. Irwin Kostal
In its 50th anniversary year Disney’s Mary Poppins continues to delight audiences young and old.
The film received 13 Academy Award nominations and won 5 awards. This makes Mary Poppins the most Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated Disney film in history. Julie Andrews won an Oscar for Best Actress and Richard and Robert Sherman won Best Original Song for Chim Chim Cher-ee.
A Spoonful of Sugar | I Love to Laugh | Jolly ‘Oliday | Step in Time | Chim Chim Cheree | Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious | Feed the Birds | Let’s Go Fly a Kite | The Derby (“Jolly Holiday” & “A Spoonful of Sugar” paraphrase)
Troika
Sergie Prolofiev
Arr. Harold L Walters
A “Troika” is a sled or carriage drawn by three horses harnessed side-by-side.
The music was written for the 1934 Soviet film Leiutenant Kije as the fictional Kije (created by a clerical error) takes a trip after his equally fictional wedding.
Prokofiev was a master at using music to tell a story. One of his most famous musical stories is
Peter and the Wolf.
Sandpaper Ballet
Leroy Anderson
Anderson's musical style employs creative instrumental effects and his compositions occasionally makes use of sound-generating items such as typewriters and sandpaper.
As the title suggests; this item makes use of the latter with great effect.
Fairytale of New York
Jem Finer, Shane MacGowan
Arr. Jock McKenzie
Fairytale of New York has been cited as the best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in the UK and Ireland. Although the single peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart when it was first released (kept from the number one position by the Pet Shop Boys' cover version of Always on My Mind), its popularity as a Christmas song has endured: to date the song has reached the UK top twenty on ten separate occasions since its original release in 1987, including every year since 2005, and was certified platinum for achieving one million sales in 2013.
Christmas Roses
Emile Waldteufel
Arr. Trevor Sharpe
In October 1874 Waldteufel played at an event that was attended by the then Prince of Wales, future King Edward VII. The Prince was enthralled by Waldteufel's "Manolo" waltz, and was prepared to make Waldteufel's music known in Britain.Through these means, Waldteufel's music was played at Buckingham Palace in front of Queen Victoria.
Waldteufel dominated the music scene in London and became world-famous. During this period he composed his best known works, many of which are still heard today around the world. He became best known for the waltz "Les Patineurs" (The Ice Skaters), composed in 1882.
Themes from
The Snowman
Howard Blake
Arr. Stephen C Barnwell
A selection of music taken from the animated adventure from 1982 about a young English boy who makes a snowman one Christmas Eve, only for it to come to life that night and take him on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus.
Interval
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| Northampton Concert Band performing in November 2014 |
A Christmas Festival
Leroy Anderson
The famous work by Leroy Anderson against which all other Christmas medleys are judged!
Carols included are:
Joy to the World | Deck the Halls | God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen | Good King Wenceslas | Hark! The Herald Angels Sing | Silent Night | Jingle Bells | Adeste Fideles
Frozen
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
Arr. Stephen Bulla
Inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale The Snow Queen this Disney animated film tells the story of a fearless princess who sets off on an epic journey to find her estranged sister, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in an eternal winter. Frozen won two academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song ("Let It Go").
Frozen Heart | Let It Go | Do You Want to Build a Snowman | For the First Time in Forever | Epilogue.
Highland Cathedral
Ulrich Roever and Michael Korb
Arr. Jay Dawson
Highland Cathedral was composed by German musicians Ulrich Roever and Michael Korb in 1982 for a Highland games held in Germany.
The tune has been performed by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and featured in the album, Spirit of the Glen, which won a Classical Brit award in 2009. The song has been performed at numerous Scottish cultural events, including Scotland's Rugby Union games.
Masquerade Waltz
Aram Khachaturian
Arr. Rocus Van Yperen
The incidental music to Masquerade was written in 1941 by Aram Khachaturian for a production of a play of the same name by Russian poet and playwright Mikhail Lermontov. It premiered on 21 June 1941 in the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow.
The waltz is the first of five movements of its better known suite.
Ukrainian Bell Carol
Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych
Arr. Philip Sparke
The Ukrainian Bell Carol is part of a large choral work entitled Shchedryk. It was first performed by students of Kiev University in December 1916.
The tune is an adaptation of an old ‘shchedrivka’, a song traditionally sung on Ukrainian New Year’s Eve, Leontovych added his own the lyrics which concern the legend claiming that when Jesus was born, all the bells on earth started ringing in his honour.
White Christmas
Irving Berlin
Arr. Philip Sparke
According to the Guinness World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.
Sleigh Ride
Leroy Anderson
Anderson had the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946; he finished the work in February 1948.
Although "Sleigh Ride" is often associated with Christmas, the song's lyrics (written by Mitchell Parish in 1950) never specifically mention any holiday or religion.
Over the years, the song has become a Christmas standard.
Symphonic Dances from
Fiddler on the Roof
Jerry Bock
Arr. Ira Hearshen
The story of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ centres on the father of five daughters and his attempts to maintain his family and Jewish religious traditions, while outside influences encroach upon their lives.
This selection mainly focuses on the instrumental music taken from the show and presents them in a series of dances.
Tradition | Wedding Dance #1 (Bottle Dance) | Perchik and Hodel Dance | Chava Sequence | To Life – Dance
