In the Bleak Midwinter

Even though I don't really enjoy Christmas all that much, (people used to call me "The Grinch"), I do enjoy the music that plays during this time, whether it be good ol' "Sleigh Ride" by Leroy Anderson, or even the traditional carols, such as "Silent Night," and "In the Bleak Midwinter." In fact, I love that music so much that I like to re-orchestrate it, and fantasize it to my liking. For example, in the first concerto I wrote for String Bass Solo, I wrote a version of "In the Bleak Midwinter." I wanted to revisit that song, so I decided to orchestrate a version for concert band, as I spent a lot of my musical career playing in a wind band. The opening of this piece begins with a woodwind chorale, introducing the theme of the song. The solo Horn interjects with bell tones, and passes along the spotlight to the Flutes and Oboes at letter A, where they sing the main theme. At measure 12, some tenor voices (Bassoon, Horn, Euphonium, and String Bass) take over for the woodwinds before passing the theme back to them. At letter B, we hear a brass chorale performing a variation of the original theme. The low brass play "Dies Irae" at measure 27, and sustain into 29 in a unison before splitting off. When the upper brass come back in, the whole section should crescendo together to build up into the next section. At letter C, the whole band now plays together, singing another verse of the original theme. This time, however, the Horns (and Tenor Sax) have a special line that keeps the motion going - this part should be heard above the ensemble, but not so much that it covers up the main theme. The sound should calm down a lot going into D, where the horns have a smooth, gentle 5/4 variation of the main theme. Each iteration should get a little bit louder. If needed, one person on a part is permissible. As more voices in sections D and D.5 are added, the overall sound of the ensemble should get louder and more full. The bars before letter E should grow dramatically. Letter E is my signature theme, which I like to throw in all of the pieces that I write (it makes it feel more personal to me). The Oboes, Bassoon 1, Trumpets and Horns play part 1 of the theme, while Bassoon 2, Saxes, Euphonium, and String Bass play part 2 of the theme. Those sections should all be heard equally, but above the rest of the ensemble, which is playing supporting themes. The end of the section ends in a dissonant chord, this is the biggest part of the piece and should be as loud as humanly possible (but with a good sound). The Bassoon solo at section F calms us down, while the woodwinds play one last iteration of the main theme from "In the Bleak Midwinter." The chord at the end should go all the way down into nothing. A true niente is hard to achieve, so it will take some work for everyone to get it all the way. If needed, one person on a part is permissible.