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A Musicological Journey Through Twelve Days of Christmas: 20th Century Update, Op. 155 (2024)

For Orchestra and Choir

Score Video:

Perusal Score:

Duration: 22'

  1. 1. A Partridge from 1920s Vienna
  2. 2. Two Turtle Doves from 1900s Vienna
  3. 3. Three French Hens from 1900s Paris
  4. 4. Four Calling Birds from 1930s Berlin
  5. 5. Five Golden Rings from 1920s Harlem
  6. 6. Six Geese a-Laying from 1900s Connecticut
  7. 7. Seven Swans a-Swimming from 1950s Paris
  8. 8. Eight Maids a-Milking from 1950s New York
  9. 9. Nine Ladies Dancing from 1960s New York
  10. 10. Ten Lords a-Leaping from 1960s Darmstadt
  11. 11. Eleven Pipers Piping from 2010s New York
  12. 12. Twelve Drummers Drumming from 1970s New York

Instrumentation:

  • Piccolo
  • 2 Flutes (both double tenor saxophone)
  • 2 Oboes
  • English Horn
  • 2 Bb Clarinets (both double A clarinet, C clarinet, alto saxophone)
  • Bass Clarinet (double baritone saxophone)
  • 2 Bassoons
  • Contrabassoon
  • 4 F Horns (all with straight mutes)
  • 3 Bb Trumpets (all double C trumpet, Bb cornet; 1-2 with straight mutes, 3 with cup mute)
  • 2 Trombones (1 with cup mute, both with straight mutes)
  • Bass Trombone (straight mute)
  • Tuba
  • Timpani
  • Percussion 1 (Marimba, Chimes, Vibraphone, Xylophone)
  • Percussion 2 (Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbals, Drum Set, Toms, Splash Cymbal, Marimba - Can be shared with Perc 1)
  • Percussion 3 (Triangle, Snare Drum, Vibraphone - Can be shared with Perc 1 & 4)
  • Percussion 4 (Tambourine, Bass Drum, Bongos, Vibraphone - Can be shared with Perc 1 & 3)
  • Harp
  • Piano
  • SATB Choir
  • Violin 1
  • Violin 2
  • Viola
  • Cello
  • Bass (some with low C extensions)

Program Notes:

In December 2022, the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra and LPHS Chorale performed Craig Courtney's A Musicological Journey Through the Twelve Days of Christmas on La Porte's Holiday at the Pops concert. The work was a delight, but trumpet player Mike Scheck and I were both miffed that the most recent composer represented was John Philip Sousa. What might such a work look like, we wondered, if instead it drew from 20th-century composers and styles?

I began work and completed a first draft in late 2023. However, the project took far longer than I anticipated! I completed large-scale revisions in 2024, bringing the piece to its present form.

I tried to imagine how each composer might have treated the standard melody. In order, the composers represented are:

Arnold Schoenberg

Gustav Mahler

Claude Debussy

Paul Hindemith

Duke Ellington

Charles Ives

Olivier Messiaen

Leonard Bernstein

Luciano Berio

Caroline Shaw

Steve Reich