A British Isles Christmas

Wow! Just when you Thought that there could not be another Christmas trilogy, here we go again. This one, however, may be worth a listen. "A British Isles Christmas" is a trilogy of two orchestra transcriptions from the 1960's Goodyear Christmas Album collection, and one choral arrangement. Eugene Ormandy's performance of "Deck the Halls" takes the eight bar melody through several key changes "alla" Arnold"s "Four Scottish Dances". Various colors and mixtures of woodwind and brass with a tinge of percussion makes this an interesting presentation. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", as performed by Andre Previn and the Pittsburgh Symphony, begins with a haunting introduction followed by a concerto grosso style presentation between harpsichord and winds. This leads into a 6/8 variation of the melody. The carol ends with the recap of the introduction. "Sussex Carol", is an arrangement of a choral presentation using various colors and mixtures of brass and woodwinds. Each carol can stand on its own, a combination of two of the three, or in its entirety. Many thanks to Dr. Kenneth Ozzello ant the University of Alabama Wind Ensemble for providing the recording of this piece.