Christmas Song, The (arr Biondi)

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Mel Tormé

Mel Tormé (arr. Craig Biondi)


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Subtitle: Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire


General Info

Year: 1959 / 2004 / 2015
Duration: c. 5:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Tell Tale Music
Cost: Score and Parts (digital) - $150.00


Instrumentation

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Originally penned in 2004 for the Dallas Wind Symphony and recorded in 2011, this arrangement of Mel Torme’s holiday classic, The Christmas Song has been a regular holiday favorite of this highly-regarded ensemble. Conductor Jerry Junkin once suggested it should be subtitled “Christmas in Las Vegas” for its flash and range of jazz styles. This newly edited version was completed in 2015.

- Program Note from publisher


The Christmas Song (commonly subtitled Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire or, as it was originally subtitled, Merry Christmas to You) is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé.

According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born. "I saw a spiral pad on his (Wells') piano with four lines written in pencil", Tormé recalled. "They started, 'Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."

- Program Note from Wikipedia


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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  • Dallas (Tx.) Winds (Shiree X. Williams, conductor; Don Fabian, alto saxophone) - 21 December 2022
  • Metropolitan Wind Symphony (Lexington, Mass.) (Rick Wyman, conductor) - 3 December 2022
  • Dallas (Tex.) Winds (Jerry Junkin, conductor; Don Fabian, alto saxophone) – 19 December 2017


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources