Russian Christmas Music Analysis

Listening to this piece brings back many memories from a high school All state year that Dr. John Lynch was conducting the band. I remember seeing and hearing this piece for the first time, loving every moment of rehearsal and simply relishing in the moment. Throughout there is such beauty and richness reminding me of Russian Christmas Music by Alfred Reed. The opening idea is beautifully orchestrated and the bells chiming allows for my imagination to wander to depict a scene of a town amidst a crisis that is about to take place. Around :53 an image appears of the person this story will center around and the hardships that surround the area. The saxophone representing the innocence and beauty of the person and the woodwind section playing full and showing their support. – It later transitions around 2:50 to a lush chorale type motive with a call a response happening between the lower voices/trumpets and the woodwinds. This continues until a bouncy texture change at 4:38 that is set up by the upper voices that is then immediately contrasted by the percussion and the jagged interjections by the trombones and brass. …show more content…
The nasal feeling of the muted trumpet with the lyrical playing of the upper woodwinds allows for there to be an undulating effect happening with continuous build until its final release into the next portion around 6:20. This section repeats the opening motive throughout and it passed around typically having a contrasting interjection from an opposing section. This ensemble in particular does a great job at being stylistic in complex meter changes and they really emphasize a difference between chordal textures and pointed