No. 305 Festive Fanfare - O, How Joyfully (David Rowsell)
This piece was written as a program opener and is based on the carol "Oh, How Joyfully". This traditional Sicilian melody dates back to the eighteenth century.
No. 306 Spanish Dance (Tchaikovsky arr. Stephen Bulla)
From Tchaikovsky's two-act ballet, "The Nutcracker" (1892), comes this charming set piece from the second act. It is part of a series of staged dances that include Arabian, Chinese, Danish, Russian and Spanish costumed performers.
No. 307 Stella Nova (Erik Silfverberg)
Stella Nova - The NEw Star - contains three of the most well-known and loved Christmas Carols in the composer's homeland Denmark. The first one tells about the new star appearing in the sky and leading the three wise men to the stable in Bethlehem. The second is the universally known Silent Night and the last is a 14th century Latin hymn which through the German language went into the Danish Hymnals in about 1550.
No. 308 March - The Joy of Christmas (James Cheyne)
The Joy of Christmas is a collection of Christmas songs that reflect the joy of the season, including (in whole or in part) "Deck the Halls", "Angels from the realms of glory", "O how joyfully", "I heard the bells", "Joy to the world", "Here we come a-wassailing", "Angels we have heard on high", and "O come, all ye faithful".
Although nine instrumentalists may adequately present music in the American Band Journal, the scoring is designed to work equally well or better with a full compliment. For nine brass instrumentalists, two cornetists should be assigned to the 1st cornet part because of the frequent use of divisi, with one 2nd cornet, two horns, two trombones, one euphonium and one tuba completing the minimum group.
Optional parts (for soprano cornet, flugel horn, baritone, bass trombone and percussion) are all included. The music is complete without these parts but their use will greatly enhance the performance, as long as the fundamental parts are covered. A free set of transposed parts in F and C (treble/bass clef) is available on request.
