Christmas Concert 2004

Programme Notes

The opening piece in tonight’s concert is a selection of familiar Christmas melodies merged into a march format.

We then transfer into a baroque mood with a transcription by Mike Gray of selected movements from Bach’s Orchestral Suite in D including the much played Air (on a G string).

The first set songs from our guest choir tonight are the work of Beckenham born Carey Blyton (1932-2002), nephew of the children’s writer, Enid Blyton.

The band and choir then join forces for a rendition of the popular Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Away in a Manger then follows in an unfamiliar ‘carillon’ bell style arrangement by Norwegian Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen, featuring Chris Maher on euphonium.

The popular Christmas tune Sleigh Ride comes from the pen of Leroy Anderson (1908-1975), an American composer of distinctive and delightful miniatures who had a close association with the Boston Pops Orchestra for many years. His best-known works include Sandpaper Ballet, The Syncopated Clock and Blue Tango.

We end our first half with a beautiful and effective arrangement by the Salvation Army composer/arranger William Himes of the proceesion from Richard Wagner’s popular opera Lohengrin.
Composed between September 1846 and March 1847, it had to wait until 1850 for it to be premiered until 1850 by his friend Franz Liszt in Weimer, Germany, whilst Wagner himself was in exile in Zurich, following his escape from arrest for participating in the May revolution of 1849.

The march we’re playing tonight as our second half opener features in the well known Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Iolanthe. An alternative title used for Iolanthe is The Peer and the Peri, which opened November 25, 1882, at the Savoy Theatre and ran for 400 performances.

Next up is a selection of themes from the first film in the trilogy based on Tolkien’s epic fantasy tale ‘The Lord of the Rings’ with original music powerfully scored by Howard Shore, whose other famous film music includes the 1998 blockbuster Titanic.

The choir return to present some more different settings of popular Christmas Carols.

Then the band join forces again with the choir for the main theme from Raymond Brigg’s popular animation ‘The Snowman’, originally sung by Aled Jones.

Let the Bright Seraphim comes from George Frederick Handel’s oratorio from 1743 Samson, where the soprano vocal is paired up with an trumpet obligato passage to great effect.

To round off tonight’s concert we have a sing-along medley of more Christmas favourites in the shape of A Christmas Holiday Festival, in which we invite you to participate.