Here Comes Santa Claus

Oakley Haldeman

Subtitle: (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)

General Info

Year: 1947 / 2014
Duration: c. 2:25
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $55.00; (digital) - $55.00 | Score Only (print) - $5.00

Instrumentation (Flexible)

Full Score
Part 1

Flute
Oboe
B-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Trumpet
Violin

Part 2

B-flat Soprano Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet
Violin

Part 3

B-flat Soprano Clarinet
E-flat Alto Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
Horn in F
Violin
Viola

Part 4

Bassoon
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
Trombone
Euphonium
Horn in F
Cello

Part 5

Bassoon
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Electric Bass
Cello

Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

Bells
Drum Set
Sleigh Bells
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Here's a unique spin on this familiar Christmas tune using a mix of styles, from two-beat to rock shuffle to straight-ahead swing. Everyone gets a chance to play the melody in this entertaining and festive arrangement that will sound good with limited or incomplete instrumentation.

- Program Note from publisher

Here Comes Santa Claus ("Right Down Santa Claus Lane") is a Christmas song originally written and performed by Gene Autry, with music composed by Oakley Haldeman. Autry's original recording was a top-10 hit on the pop and country charts; the song would go on to be covered many times in the subsequent decades.

Autry got the idea for the song after riding his horse in the 1946 Santa Claus Lane Parade (now the Hollywood Christmas Parade) in Los Angeles, during which crowds of spectators chanted, "Here comes Santa Claus". This inspired him to write a song that Haldeman set to music. Autry's lyrics combined two veins of the Christmas tradition, the mythology of Santa Claus and the Christian origin of the holiday (most explicitly in its mention of the nativity promise of "peace on Earth").

- 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

North Forney High School (Forney, Tx.) Brass Ensemble (Mason Jocoy, conductor) - 8 December 2022

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Here Comes Santa Claus (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Murtha) (1947/2014)

All Wind Works

Here Comes Santa Claus (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Murtha) (1947/2014)

Resources

Here Comes Santa Claus, Wikipedia Accessed 11 August 2020
Perusal score