Fantasy on the Huron Carol

Robert Buckley

Robert Buckley

This article is a stub. If you can help add information to it, please join the WRP and visit the FAQ (left sidebar) for information.

General Info

Year: 1642 / 2014
Duration: c. 4:55
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Carol
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $65.00; (digital) - $65.00   |   Score Only (print) - $7.50

Instrumentation

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

(percussion detail desired)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

This outstanding symphonic fantasy features a haunting melody which is skillfully woven through a series of rich and varied stylistic variants. Every section of the band gets a chance to be featured at some point, resulting in a sparkling holiday gem!

- Program Note from publisher

The Huron Carol (or Twas in the Moon of Wintertime) is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people; the song's original Huron title is Jesous Ahatonhia (Jesus, He Is Born). The song's melody is based on a traditional French folk song, Une Jeune Pucelle (A Young Maid). The well-known English lyrics were written in 1926 by Jesse Edgar Middleton.

The English version of the hymn uses imagery familiar in the early 20th century, in place of the traditional Nativity story. This version is derived from Brébeuf's original song and Huron religious concepts. In the English version, Jesus is born in a "lodge of broken bark" and wrapped in a "robe of rabbit skin". He is surrounded by hunters instead of shepherds, and the Magi are portrayed as "chiefs from afar" who bring him "fox and beaver pelts" instead of the more familiar gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The English translation uses a traditional Algonquian name, Gitchi Manitou, for God, which is not in the original Wyandot version. The original lyrics are now sometimes modified to use imagery accessible to Christians who are not familiar with aboriginal Canadian cultures.

- Program Note from Wikipedia

Media

• Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• Phoenix (N.Y.) Community Band (Ronald Nuzzo, conductor) – 18 December 2017
• Troy (Mich.) High School Concert Band – 4 December 2014

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

• Final Countdown (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1986/2014)
• Highlights from "Doctor Who" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2006/2019)
• My Favorite Things (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1959/2014)

All Wind Works

• Above and Beyond (2020)
• Ancient Stone Circles (2015)
• Arctic Fire. See: Symphony No. 1
• Attack of the Cyborgs (2017)
• Autumn's Garland. See: Symphony No. 3
• Bigfoot Stomp (2020)
• Cathedral Grove (2012)
• Codebreaker (2013)
• Continuum (2011)
• December (2013)
• Doctor Who (as arranger) (2016)
• Dreamcatcher (2016)
• Eagle Song (as arranger) (2018)
• Echo Lake (2014)
• Echoes of the Silent (2018)
• Excerpts from "The Rite of Spring" (as arranger) (2015)
• Fantasy on the Huron Carol (2014)
• Final Countdown (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1986/2014)
• Finn McCool (2020)
• Free Running (2012)
• From the Highest Peak (2017)
• The Gathering of Eagles (as arranger) (2018)
• Highlights from "Doctor Who" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2006/2019)
• Highway of Heroes (2019)
• Hymn to Freedom (as arranger) (1962/2017)
• I Am the Doctor (as arranger) (2015)
• Iditarod. See: Symphony No. 1
• Jitterbug! (2018)
• Kingdom of the Sun and Moon (2015)
• The Knights' Creed (2018)
• Land of the Midnight Sun. See: Symphony No. 1
• LOL (2016)
• The Legend of Billy Miner (2018)
• Let the Bells Ring! (2015)
• Lightspeed (2017)
• The Lions March (2020)
• The Magic Mirror (2020)
• My Favorite Things (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1959/2014)
• Ogopogo (2015)
• An Olympic Celebration (2007/2010)
• Pacifica (Buckley) (2013)
• Portraits of the North. See: Symphony No. 1
• Postcard from Amsterdam (2015)
• Postcard from England (2014)
• Postcard from Pittsburgh (2013)
• Prestidigitation (2016)
• Procession of the Sorcerers (2009/2012)
• Propulsion (2014)
• Raven (as arranger) (2020)
• ReBoot (2013)
• Red Sky (2015)
• Rock It Science (2013)
• The Seas of the Moon
  • Sea of Tranquility (2018)
  • Foaming Sea (2018)
  • Sea of Clouds (2019)
  • Serpent Sea (2019)
• Smoke and Mirrors (2012)
• Smugglers' Cove (2019)
• Snow (2017)
• Spirit of the Wolf (as arranger) (2019)
• Spring Awakening. See: Symphony No. 3
• Squonk Blues (2016)
• Starburst (2015)
• Summer Festivals. See: Symphony No. 3
• Symphony No. 1 (2012-2014)
  • Arctic Fire (2014)
  • Land of the Midnight Sun (2013)
  • Iditarod (2012)
• Symphony No. 3 (2021)
  • Autumn's Garland
  • Winter Light
  • Spring Awakening
  • Summer Festivals
• Synergy (2019)
• Themes from "The Crown" (as arranger) (2020)
• Thunderbird
• A Tribute to Arthur Delamont
  • Front and Center (2015)
  • Memento (2015)
  • Flying Colors (2015)
• Under the Prairie Sky
• Undercurrents (2016)
• Walking to the Sky (2016)
• Where Mountains Touch the Sky (2014)
• Wild Rose Jamboree (2016)
• Windjammer (2011)
• Winter Light. See: Symphony No. 3
• Wolf Song (as arranger) (2019)

Resources

• Huron Carol, Wikipedia Accessed 29 December 2017
• Robert Buckley website Accessed 29 December 2017