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Seattle Symphony’s first holiday album embraces works composed specifically for Christmas as well as other pieces that convey a universal message of peace, love and hope—the essence of humanity’s highest aspirations. Music Director Gerard Schwarz asked two composers, the Symphony’s Composer in Residence Samuel Jones and Seattle Symphony Principal Oboe Ben Hausmann, to “make the music their own” by scoring several of the pieces to retain the unaffected simplicity of these well-known Christmas and concert works. Schwarz joined them in this task, arranging or editing several of the pieces, with the resulting works celebrating the remarkable artistry of the musicians of the Orchestra. In these new settings, recorded entirely in Benaroya Hall, the music emerges with honest, untarnished beauty.
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a
The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a: I. Miniature Overture
Franz Xaver Gruber: Stille Nacht (Silent Night) (arr. G. Schwarz)
Stille Nacht (Silent Night) (arr. G. Schwarz)
George Frideric Handel: Water Music: Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348 (edited G. Schwarz for orchestra)
Water Music: Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348: III. Allegro (edited G. Schwarz for orchestra)
Gerard Schwarz: Variations on Greensleeves
Variations on Greensleeves
The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a
The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a: II. March
Johann Pachelbel: Canon and Gigue in D major
Canon and Gigue in D major: Canon
Lewis H. Redner: O Little Town of Bethlehem (arr. S. Jones)
O Little Town of Bethlehem (arr. S. Jones for orchestra)
Water Music: Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348 (edited G. Schwarz for orchestra)
Water Music: Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348: VIII. Bourree (edited G. Schwarz for orchestra)
The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a
III. Dance of the Sugar-plum Fairy
IV. Russian Dance, "Trepak"
Water Music: Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348 (edited G. Schwarz for orchestra)
Water Music: Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348: VI. Air (edited G. Schwarz for orchestra)
Pietro Yon: Gesu bambino (arr. B. Hausmann for orchestra)
Gesu bambino (arr. B. Hausmann for orchestra)
Water Music: Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348 (edited G. Schwarz for orchestra)
Water Music: Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348: IX. Hornpipe (edited G. Schwarz for orchestra)
Traditional: Coventry Carol (arr. B. Hausmann for orchestra)
Coventry Carol (arr. B. Hausmann for orchestra)
The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a
The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a: VIII. Waltz of the Flowers
Gerard Schwarz: We Three Kings of Orient Are - We Wish You a Merry Christmas (arr. G. Schwarz)
We Three Kings of Orient Are - We Wish You a Merry Christmas (arr. G. Schwarz for orchestra)
November 2012
“This album is a class act. The programming is clever. Highlights from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker suite and the baroque era form bookends and interludes between chic arrangements of traditional carols. The concept is clever since it features the Seattle Symphony’s own composers, arrangers, and very talented soloists. The results are wonderful too. In the world of purely orchestral Christmas albums, this is about as good as it gets.”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a: I. Miniature Overture
