Christmas Festival, A

Leroy Anderson

General Info

Year: 1950
Duration: c. 7:05
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Alfred Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts - $87.00 | Score Only - $15.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

Bass Drum
Bells
Chimes
Crash Cymbals
Snare Drum
Sleigh Bells
Suspended Cymbal
Triangle

Errata

Cornet III: m. 82, beat 3: Should be a written F-natural to match the concert Eb in Horn 2.

Program Notes

A Christmas Festival includes excerpts from Joy to the World, Deck the Halls, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night, Jingle Bells, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Adeste Fidelis. Listen for the clever ways that Anderson weaves these themes together and his unconventional treatments of one or two of the traditional carols: O Little Town of Bethlehem sounds almost like a military march.

- Program note by University of Houston Moores School of Music Wind Ensemble concert program, 19 December 2012

A Christmas Festival, composed in 1950, is a concert overture built upon traditional Christmas songs. Originally recorded by the Boston Pops, it is the Christmas medley that sets the standard for all others. Anderson has encompassed the joy, celebration, and solemnity of Christmas in his arrangements of Joy To The World • Deck the Halls • God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen • Good King Wenceslas • Hark! The Herald Angels Sing • The First Noel • Silent Night • Jingle Bells and O Come, All Ye Faithful.

- Program Note from Walnut Creek (Calif.) Concert Band concert program, 1 December 2015

Media

Audio: Reference recording; ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: Boston Pops Orchestra (Arthur Fiedler, conductor) - 2004
Audio CD: BBC Concert Orchestra (Leonard Slatkin, conductor) - 2008

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Heart of Texas Concert Band (San Antonio) ( R. Mark Rogers, conductor) - 18 December 2022
Philadelphia (Penn.) Wind Symphony (Paul Bryan, conductor) - 16 December 2022
Dallas (Tx.) Winds (Shiree X. Williams, conductor) - 21 December 2022
Bristol (Conn.) Brass & Wind Ensemble (Richard Theriault, conductor) - 11 December 2022
Sacramento (Calif.) Symphonic Winds (Matthew Morse, conductor) - 11 December 2022
Watsonville (Calif.) Community Band (Brad Gronroos, conductor) - 9 December 2022
Peninsula Concert Band (Williamsburg, Va.) (Ronnie Tong, conductor) - 7 December 2022
Piedmont Wind Symphony (Winston-Salem, N.C.) (Mark A. Norman, conductor) - 6 December 2022
Foothill Symphonic Winds (Palo Alto, Calif.) (Bruce David Adams, conductor) - 4 December 2022
The Southern Tier (Binghamton, N.Y.) Concert Band (Barry G. Peters, conductor) - 6 December 2021
Grace College (Winona Lake, Ind.) Wind Ensemble (Eric Criss, conductor) – 29 November 2021
Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minn.) Bands (Heidi Johanna Miller, conductor) – 8 December 2020
Charlottesville (Va.) Municipal Band (Steve Layman, conductor) – 15 December 2019
Arkansas Winds (Farmington) (Michael Ferguson, conductor) – 15 December 2019
New Orleans (La.) Concert Band (Charles Taylor, conductor) – 15 December 2019
Lone Star Symphonic Band (Katy, Tx.) (Bob Bryant, conductor) – 15 December 2019
Encore Concert Band (Mokena, Ill.) (Bill Schuetter, conductor) – 15 December 2019
Atlanta (Ga.) Wind Symphony (David Kehler, conductor) – 14 December 2019
Cuesta Wind Ensemble (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) (Jennifer Martin, conductor) – 13 December 2019
Maybrook (N.Y.) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Roy C. Coates, conductor) – 13 December 2019

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Sleigh Ride (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Fernie) (1948/)
Sleigh Ride (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Torskangerpoll) (1948/2020)

All Wind Works

Belle of the Ball (1951)
Blue Tango (1951)
Blue Tango (arr. Ployhar) (1951/1980)
The Bluebells of Scotland (1954/1962)
Bugler's Holiday (arr. Edwards) (1954)
The Captains and Kings (1962)
China Doll (1951/1953)
A Christmas Festival (1950)
A Christmas Festival (arr. Smith) (1950/2007)
Clarinet Candy (1962)
Concerto in C for Piano and Symphonic Wind Orchestra (arr. Murschinski) (1953/2008)
Fiddle-Faddle (arr. Lang) (1947)
Forgotten Dreams (1954)
The Girl I Left Behind Me. See: Irish Suite: The Girl I Left Behind Me
The Girl in Satin (1953)
The Golden Years (1962)
Home Stretch (1962)
Horse and Buggy (1951)
Irish Suite: The Girl I Left Behind Me (1949)
Irish Suite: The Irish Washerwoman (1947)
Irish Suite: The Last Rose of Summer (arr. Wagner) (1950/2010)
Irish Suite: The Minstrel Boy (as arranger) (1947/1952/2009)
Irish Suite: The Rakes of Mallow (1947)
Irish Suite: The Wearing of the Green (arr. Wagner) (1947/2009)
Jazz Pizzicato (arr. Lang) (1938)
The Last Rose of Summer. See: Irish Suite: The Last Rose of Summer
A Leroy Anderson Portrait (arr. Barnes) (1982/2006)
Lullaby of the Drums (1970)
March of the Two Left Feet (orch. Boyd) (1969/2008)
The Penny Whistle Song (1951)
The Phantom Regiment (1951)
Pirate Dance (1962)
Promenade (arr. Lang) (1945/1948)
Promenade (arr. Wagner) (1945/2017)
Pyramid Dance (1960)
The Rakes of Mallow. See: Irish Suite: The Rakes of Mallow
Sandpaper Ballet (1954)
Selections from Leroy Anderson's "Irish Suite" (arr. Wagner) (1947/2011)
Serenata (1947)
Sleigh Ride (1948)
Sleigh Ride (Brass Ensemble) (arr. Fernie) (1948/2010)
Sleigh Ride (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Fernie) (1948/)
Sleigh Ride (arr. Mellema) (1948/)
Sleigh Ride (arr. Ployhar) (1948/1980)
Sleigh Ride (arr. Schwalgin) (1948/)
Sleigh Ride (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Torskangerpoll) (1948/2020)
Sleigh Ride (arr. Warner) (1948/2006)
Sleigh Ride (ed. Woodfield) (1948/)
Song of Jupiter (as arranger) (1952)
Song of the Bells (1953)
Suite of Carols for Brass (1955)
Suite of Carols for Woodwinds (1955)
Summer Skies (1953)
The Syncopated Clock (1945)
The Syncopated Clock (arr. Lang) (1946/1948)
The Syncopated Clock (arr. Schubert) (1946/1997)
Ticonderoga March (ed. Boyd) (1939)
A Trumpeter's Lullaby (arr. Lang) (1950/1978)
The Typewriter (arr. Heide) (1950/)
The Typewriter (arr. Werle) (1950)
The Waltzing Cat (arr. Lang) (1950)
The Wearing of the Green. See: Irish Suite: The Wearing of the Green

Resources

Anderson, L. [1950]. A Christmas Festival for Band [score]. Belwin Mills: New York.
Leroy Anderson website Accessed 14 May 2021