Russian Christmas Music
Encyclopedia
Russian Christmas Music is a musical piece for symphonic band, written by Alfred Reed
in 1944. It is one of the most popular and frequently performed pieces of concert band literature.
Reed was commissioned to write a piece of "Russia
n music" for a concert in Denver, Colorado
. The concert's aim was to improve Soviet
-America
n relations; as such, it was to include premieres of new Soviet and American works. Prokofiev
's March, Op. 99 was supposed to be the Russian work, but it was discovered that the work had already been performed in the United States, and Reed was assigned to write a new piece a mere sixteen days before the concert. The piece was first performed on December 12, 1944, on nationally-broadcast NBC
radio
.
Although Russian Christmas Music consists of only one movement, it can be readily divided into four sections:
A typical performance of Russian Christmas Music lasts 14–16 minutes. As it was written to convey the sounds of Eastern Orthodox liturgical music, which uses the human voice
exclusively, the entire piece must be played with some lyrical and singing quality.
Slavonic Folk Suite is Reed's arrangement of Carol of the Little Russian Children (here called Children's Carol) and Cathedral Chorus for a younger, less experienced band.
The song is also the official corps song of the Crossmen
Drum and Bugle Corps.
The piece was performed for the 2005 "Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square" concert arranged for full orchestra and choir (last section only), set as the accompaniment of a story revolving around a widowed man and his 8-year-old daughter in 1917 Siberia. The story was narrated by British actress Claire Bloom
.
Alfred Reed
Alfred Reed was one of North America's most prolific and frequently performed composers, with more than two hundred published works for concert band, wind ensemble, orchestra, chorus, and chamber ensemble to his name...
in 1944. It is one of the most popular and frequently performed pieces of concert band literature.
Reed was commissioned to write a piece of "Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n music" for a concert in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. The concert's aim was to improve Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n relations; as such, it was to include premieres of new Soviet and American works. Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
's March, Op. 99 was supposed to be the Russian work, but it was discovered that the work had already been performed in the United States, and Reed was assigned to write a new piece a mere sixteen days before the concert. The piece was first performed on December 12, 1944, on nationally-broadcast NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
.
Although Russian Christmas Music consists of only one movement, it can be readily divided into four sections:
- The opening section, Carol of the Little Russian Children (mmBar (music)In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...
. 1–31; approx. 3 minuteMinuteA minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
s), is based on a 16th century Russian Christmas carol. It is slow throughout; after a quiet opening by the chimes, contrabass clarinetContrabass clarinetThe contrabass clarinet is the largest member of the clarinet family that has ever been in regular production or significant use. Modern contrabass clarinets are pitched in BB, sounding two octaves lower than the common B soprano clarinet and one octave lower than the B bass clarinet...
, and string bass, the clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s carry the melody. The other voices join in, and the section ends with a series of chordChord (music)A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
s. - The Antiphonal Chant (mm. 32–85; about 2 minutes) is faster and louder, with the melody initially carried by the tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, and cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
s. The woodwinds join in, and the music becomes more and more frenzied until the section ends loudly. - The Village Song (mm. 86–165; about 5 minutes) is much gentler by comparison; the Cor anglaisCor anglaisThe cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
has two solos, with soli in the fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s and a solo in the horns at the end of each. The piece enters a time signatureTime signatureThe time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
of 6/4; the band plays a series of cantabile two-bar phrases back and forth between the woodwinds and brass, with the string bass playing long strings of eighth-notes, which are passed along to the bells. The song becomes quieter again, and the section ends with another English horn solo. - The Cathedral Chorus (mm. 166–249; about 5 minutes) starts quietly, as the end of Village Song, but a crescendo in the trombones and percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
brings the rest of the band in majestically. The music builds to a climax, but then backs down for a final chorale in the woodwinds; the sound builds once again, and the piece concludes with a thundering chorale marked by liberal use of the chimes and tam-tam as well as soaring horn counterpoint.
A typical performance of Russian Christmas Music lasts 14–16 minutes. As it was written to convey the sounds of Eastern Orthodox liturgical music, which uses the human voice
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
exclusively, the entire piece must be played with some lyrical and singing quality.
Slavonic Folk Suite is Reed's arrangement of Carol of the Little Russian Children (here called Children's Carol) and Cathedral Chorus for a younger, less experienced band.
The song is also the official corps song of the Crossmen
Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps
The Crossmen are a World Class drum and bugle corps from San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 1975, they are a member of Drum Corps International. The Crossmen have had various geographic homes over the years, beginning in the southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware Valley areas...
Drum and Bugle Corps.
The piece was performed for the 2005 "Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square" concert arranged for full orchestra and choir (last section only), set as the accompaniment of a story revolving around a widowed man and his 8-year-old daughter in 1917 Siberia. The story was narrated by British actress Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
.