Coventry Carol dates from the 16th Century. Traditionally sung 'a capella', the carol refers to the Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew and the Massacre of the innocents, in which Herod ordered all male infants under the age of two in Bethlehem to be killed. It takes the form of a lullaby sung by mothers of the doomed children.
In this arrangement, the Dies Irae or 'Day of Wrath' theme heard in the introduction lets us know of the impending rage and massacre portrayed in verse three, before the music eventually subsides and resolves with calmness and assuredness with the raised third tierce de Picardy.
When I first thought about arranging this well known carol, it was going to be for band and choir. I did however change my mind - every band part has a ‘songsheet’ attached to it. Between 10 & 14 of the band members are directed to the songsheet, (every member of the band is also a vocalist at some point in the proceedings)! before the full band plays a final verse and chorus of this fabulous Cecil Broadhurst song as a big ending. Of course, it is still possible to perform it with a choir as well/instead, or even a soloist. (If you wish, the scoring means that this would also be an effective part of your programme without any vocals). ‘Tim Paton has produced a very interesting and flexible arrangement’ Robert Childs
Percussion section requires: Drum Kit and Sleigh Bells
Jingle Bells is one of the best known and commonly sung Christmas songs in the world. Written as a children’s song by James Lord Pierpont using a very simple tune and structure, it is not often given the musical gravitas that it deserves. Arturo Sandoval, the Cuban trumpet player famous for playing with Maynard Ferguson, recorded a version of this song with Big Band on the Latin Jazz Christmas album in 2003, which was earlier released for Playboy magazine under the title ‘Playboy Latin Jazz Christmas, A Not so Silent Night’. This arrangement is inspired wholly by the Jingle Bells on that album, with blistering trumpets, syncopated trombones and additional Mambo drum kit patterns to create a Big Band style piece. In the middle there is also a written out trumpet solo with optional improvisation true to Arturo’s famous rapid CuBop playing. After the solo a cheeky contrasting section with sleigh bells, calypso style trumpets and bass trombone moments cuts in. This then segues into a tuba bass line breakdown, more and more parts building up gradually with ostinatos and patterns until the huge key change and the final melody to take it home with every part going with full throttle. This is a tremendously exciting finishing number or encore for any Christmas programme.
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