James Pierpont - Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells is a Christmas hit known all over the world, so why not play it in some diverse global styles? This was my initial thought when I began working on this arrangement. The opening takes us straight into a Disney movie, then some Irish flutes invite us to take a sleigh ride somewhere up north in Lapland. Down by the river Volga, a Russian hero sings a ballad and a complete Rimsky-Korsakov orchestra answers. A harp invites us for a French waltz a la Ravel... or is it Strauss? Thereafter a Bavarian polka sets the right tempo to finish the song, sounding like a Big Band with a boulevard of Hollywood strings before Rudolf leaves us with a last farewell. Just have fun…

Piccolo, flute, 2 oboes, 2 Bb clarinets, 2 bassoon, 2x Eb saxophones (opt.), tenor saxophone (opt.), 2x horn 1 in f, 2x horn 2 in f, 2x horn 3 in f, 3 Bb trumpets, trombone, 2x timpani, 2x percussions & mallets, drums, harp, 8x violin 1+2, 8x viola, 4x violoncello, 4x contrabass