White Christmas (arr Auken)
Irving Berlin (arr. Zan Van Auken)
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: 1940 / 1973
Duration: c. 4:00
Difficulty: II (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $55.00 | Score Only (print) - $15.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
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 Cornet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Percussion
(percussion detail desired)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
White Christmas is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. According to the Guinness World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 100 million copies worldwide. Other versions of the song, along with Bing Crosby's, have sold over 150 million copies.
Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song. One story is that he wrote it in 1940, in warm La Quinta, California, while staying at the La Quinta Hotel, a frequent Hollywood retreat also favored by writer-director-producer Frank Capra, although the Arizona Biltmore also claims the song was written there. He often stayed up all night writing — he told his secretary, "Grab your pen and take down this song. I just wrote the best song I've ever written — heck, I just wrote the best song that anybody's ever written!"
In 1999, National Public Radio included it in the "NPR 100", which sought to compile the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century. Crosby's version of the song also holds the distinction of being ranked #2 on the "Songs of the Century" list, behind only Judy Garland's Over the Rainbow, as voted by members of the RIAA. In 2002, the original 1942 version was one of 50 historically significant recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. In 2004, it finished at #5 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
- Program Note from Wikipedia
Media
(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Beaver County (Penn.) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Kevin Newton, conductor) - 8 December 2021
- Western Reserve Community Band (Hudson, Ohio) (Ralph Meyer, conductor) – 18 December 2016
- Stonewall Brigade Band (Staunton, Va.) (Bob Moody, conductor) – 14 December 2015
- Thomas Jefferson High School (San Antonio, Texas) Symphonic Band (Jonathan Mireles, conductor) – December 2014
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- God Bless America (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Vinson) (1939/2011)
- White Christmas (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Sweeney) (1940/2006)
All Wind Works
- Alexander's Ragtime Band (arr. Molenaar) (1911/1960)
- Alexander's Ragtime Band (arr. Nowak) (1911/2013)
- Alexander's Ragtime Band (arr. Yoder) (1911/1940)
- Count Your Blessings (arr. Nowlin) (1954)
- Easter Parade (arr. Bennett) (1933)
- Easter Parade (arr. Auken) (1973)
- God Bless America (arr. Cofield) (1939/1972)
- God Bless America (arr. Edmondson) (1939/1979)
- God Bless America (arr. U.S. Army Band) (1939)
- God Bless America (arr. Jennings) (1939)
- God Bless America (arr. Laurent) (1939)
- God Bless America (arr. Leidzen) (1939)
- God Bless America (arr. Moss and Christopher) (1939/1995)
- God Bless America (arr. Ringwald) (1939/1969)
- God Bless America (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Vinson) (1939/2011)
- Happy Holiday/White Christmas (arr. Ricketts) (2009)
- Irving Berlin: A Symphonic Portrait (arr. Ades) (1975)
- An Irving Berlin Christmas (arr. Barker) (2007)
- Irving Berlin: From Rags to Ritz (arr. Murtha and Snyder) (2011)
- Irving Berlin Showstoppers (arr. Higgins) (1994)
- Irving Berlin: The Early Years (arr. Barker) (1997)
- Irvining Berlin Waltz Medley (arr. Leidzen) (1940)
- Irving Berlin's Christmas (arr. Brown and Brymer) (2010)
- Irving Berlin's Songs for America (arr. Swearingen) (1986)
- Marie (arr. Ballenger III)
- No Biz Like Show Biz (arr. Hearshen)
- Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning (arr. Schulz) (1918)
- Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning (arr. Briegel) (1918)
- Say It with Music (arr. Yoder) (1921/1940)
- There's No Business Like Show Business (arr. Duthoit) (1946/1955)
- This is the Army, Mr. Jones (arr. Briegel) (1942)
- Tribute to Irving Berlin (arr. Barker) (1979)
- White Christmas (arr. Auken) (1940/1973)
- White Christmas (arr. Bennett) (1940/1948)
- White Christmas (arr. Edmondson) (1940/1979)
- White Christmas (arr. Huff and Moss) (1940/1995)
- White Christmas (arr. Leidzen) (1940/1942)
- White Christmas (arr. Moss) (1940/1998)
- White Christmas (arr. Skelly) (1940/?)
- White Christmas (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Sweeney) (1940/2006)
Resources
- Berlin, I; Auken, Z. (1972).White Christmas [score]. Irving Berlin Music Corp.: New York.
- Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Irving Berlin." Accessed 24 December 2015
- White Christmas (song), Wikipedia Accessed 24 December 2015