FENNELL "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" (for Brass Band or Large Brass Ensemble)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone! I am very excited to share with you all an original piece for brass band/brass ensemble that I wrote (way back in the year 2000); this is music to underscore and dramatize Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, “An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas” - better known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” My goal was to manifest some of the excitement I felt as a kid as Christmas approached, imagining Santa Claus making his midnight journey and visiting my house. This has been a huge project, consuming most of the last few weeks of my time! I think it turned out pretty well. From the program notes:
The piece begins with a dramatic musical “Once-Upon-A-Time,” as we travel north in the blowing snow. Eventually, we settle into a bustling workshop of Saint Nicholas and his elves, as preparations are being made for St. Nick’s nocturnal trip. The jolly theme for St. Nicholas is introduced by the tubist, who is joined by the soprano cornet player. Later, we hear sleigh bells as Saint Nick mounts his sleigh and takes off on his annual Christmas journey. As the first part of the piece ends, we see him (and his entourage) disappear, in a flash, into the distance. Here, then, the themes and motives have all been exposed, and the stage is set for the narrator to begin the reading. The underscored music continues with the themes and motives we heard in the prologue.
Thanks to all the usual suspects: Jason Allison and Brooke Boehmer on horn, Ross Cohen on baritone, Vicente Hernandez on trombone, Algirdas Matonis on euphonium, and Brian Kelley on tuba (with the leading role of Saint Nick himself!). A big shout-out goes to good ol’ reliable Dmitry Babkin for all his hard work and patience on this project. Thanks also to our friends at DFMusicInc for their continued support!
Sheet music is available here:
www.matonizz.com/product/twas...
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THE MUSICIANS:
Drew Fennell (Principal Flugelhorn with River City Brass, Professor of Trumpet at Grove City College)
Online Lessons: [e-mail]
Instruments Used:
Bb Trumpet:
www.dfmusicinc.com/John-Packe...
Bb Flugelhorn:
www.dfmusicinc.com/John-Packe...
Bb Cornet:
www.dfmusicinc.com/John-Packe...
Eb Cornet:
www.dfmusicinc.com/John-Packe...
Bb/A Rotary Piccolo Trumpet:
www.dfmusicinc.com/John-Packe...
Bb/A Piston Piccolo Trumpet:
www.dfmusicinc.com/John-Packe...
/ themusicofdrewfennell
/ drewfennellmusic
themusicofd...
Jason Allison (Principal Horn with River City Brass, Horn Faculty at Seton Hill University and the University of Pittsburgh, Horn faculty at Sewanee Music Center)
Instrument Used:
www.dfmusicinc.com/John-Packe...
Brooke Boehmer (Horn with River City Brass)
Vicente Hernandez (Trombone)
/ @bonesaplenty
/ bones_a_plenty
soundcloud.com/vicente-hernan...
Algirdas Matonis (“Matonizz”) (Principal Euphonium with River City Brass)
Online Lessons: [e-mail]
Instrument Used:
www.dfmusicinc.com/John-Packe...
/ matonizz
/ matonizz
/ matonizz
Brian Kelley (Tuba with River City Brass)
Online Lessons: [e-mail]
Instruments Used:
www.dfmusicinc.com/John-Packe...
www.dfmusicinc.com/John-Packe...
Dmitry Babkin (Sound Engineer)
[e-mail]
TRUMPET, CORNET, FLUGELHORN, FRENCH HORN, TENOR HORN, BARITONE, TROMBONE, BASS TROMBONE, EUPHONIUM, TUBA, TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS, ACCOUNT OF A VISIT FROM SAINT NICHOLAS, A VISIT FROM SAINT NICHOLAS, SAINT NICK, SANTA CLAUS, CHRISTMAS

[@jamesnorman415]

FANTASTIC!!! ❤😊❤😊❤😊

[@TheMusicofDrewFennell]

Glad you like it!!! Merry Christmas, and please share with everyone!

[@AnthonyOTooleMusic]

Excellent music, both exciting and colorful -- scored with amazing dimension and resourcefulness.

[@TheMusicofDrewFennell]

Thanks for listening, and for the kind words. Hope you have a great holiday!

[@sirclamalot]

Simply brilliant!

[@TheMusicofDrewFennell]

Thanks. Happy you’ve enjoyed it!

[@buffalobillh]

Love it!

[@TheMusicofDrewFennell]

Some nice tuba stuff, for sure.

[@buffalobillh]

@@TheMusicofDrewFennell
That’s a sign of a darned fine arranger! 😜😂

[@TheMusicofDrewFennell]

@@buffalobillh, thanks. I try to make sure everyone has something good to play.

[@lotsabirds]

Have a Very Merry Christmas, Drew!

[@TheMusicofDrewFennell]

Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!

[@lotsabirds]

@@TheMusicofDrewFennell Thank You!