Good King Wenceslas
Traditional (arr. Tom Wallace)
General Info
Year: 1998
Duration: c. 2:20
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Arrangers Publishing Company
Cost: Score and Parts - $70.00 | Score Only - $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-V, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bell Tree
- Bells
- Cabasa
- Chimes
- Crash Cymbals
- Hand Drum
- Mark Tree
- Sleigh Bells
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Tam-Tam
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Good King Wenceslas is a popular Christmas carol that tells a story of a king going on a journey in braving harsh winter weather to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the day after Christmas). During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step, through the deep snow. The legend is based on the life of the historical Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia or Svatý Václav in Czech (907–935).
In 1853, English hymnwriter John Mason Neale wrote the "Wenceslas" lyrics, in collaboration with his music editor Thomas Helmore, and the carol first appeared in Carols for Christmas-Tide, 1853. Neale's lyrics were set to the melody of a 13th-century spring carol Tempus adest floridum ("The time is near for flowering") first published in the 1582 Finnish song collection Piae Cantiones.
- Program Note from Wikipedia
Commercial Discography
- Audio CD: Krimmel Intermediate School (Spring, Tx.) Symphonic Band (Todd Clearwater, conductor) - 2009
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Loveland (Colo.) Concert Band (Scott Schlup, conductor) – December 2012
- Krimmel Intermediate School (Spring, Tx.) Symphonic Band (Todd Clearwater, conductor) – 17 December 2009 (2009 Midwest Clinic)
- San Luis Obispo (Calif.) Wind Orchestra (William V. Johnson, conductor) – 5 December 1999
Works for Winds by This Arranger
- Allegro Barbaro (as arranger) (1911/1995)
- Atomic Dog (as arranger)
- Away in a Manger (as arranger) (2012)
- Clair de Lune (as arranger) (1890/1905/1995)
- Divinum Mysterium (as arranger) (2006)
- Fantasy on a Flemish Carol (as arranger) (2011)
- Feliz Navidad (as arranger) (1970)
- The Genius of Paul Simon (as arranger)
- Good King Wenceslas (as arranger) (1998)
- Happy Xmas (War is Over) (as arranger) (2010)
- The Holly and the Ivy (as arranger) (2015)
- House of Horrors (as arranger) (1992)
- I Wonder as I Wonder (as arranger)
- Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head (as arranger) (1993)
- March of the Toys/Toyland (as arranger) (1903/1995)
- Midnight Sleighride (as arranger) (1933-1934/2002)
- Morning Has Broken (as arranger)
- On This Day (as arranger) (2010)
- Pat-A-Pan (as arranger) (1720/2001)
- The Promise (as arranger)
- School's Out (as arranger)
- Shake a Tail Feather (as arranger)
Resources
- Wallace, T. (1998). Good King Wenceslas [score]. Arrangers Publishing Co,: [Nashvile, Tenn.]
- Good King Wenceslas, Wikipedia