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Mary's Boy Child
Jester Hairston (arr. Philip Sparke)
General Info
Year: 1956 / 2003
Duration: c. 4:45
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: De Haske
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $92.00 | Score Only (print) - $23.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
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 Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bongos
- Claves
- Glockenspiel
- Maracas
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Philip Sparke has written gentle calypso treatment of this wonderful holiday tune. Also known as Mary Had A Baby Boy, the light-hearted style of this traditional melody will be familiar to many.
- Program Note from publisher
Mary's Boy Child is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston. It is widely performed as a Christmas carol. Walter Schumann, at the time conducting Schumann's Hollywood Choir, asked Hairston to write a new Christmas song for his choir. Hairston remembered the calypso rhythm from his 1956 birthday song He Pone and Chocolate Tea, and he wrote new lyrics for it.
Harry Belafonte heard the song being performed by the choir and sought permission to record it. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1957, and has since sold over 1.19 million copies there.
- Program Note adapted from Wikipedia
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Heart of Texas (San Antonio) Concert Band (John Goforth, conductor) - 20 December 2020
- Contra Costa Wind Symphony (Walnut Creek, Calif.) (Brad Hogarth, conductor; Karyn Weber, bass clarinet) – 12 December 2016
- BläserPhilharmonie Ostwestfalen-Lippe (Germany) (Pietro Sarno, conductor) – December 2016
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Amen (arr. Cofield) (1972)
- Elijah Rock (arr. Erickson)
- Jester Hairston Calypso Christmas (arr. Whitcomb) (1971)
- Mary's Boy Child (arr. Sparke) (1956/2003)
- Mary's Little Boy Child (arr. Kerchner) (1956/2018)
Resources
- Mary's Boy Child, Wikipedia. Accessed 13 January 2021
- Perusal score (in Attachments)