Nigel Hess’s bustling 7-minute A Christmas Overture is an exciting new addition to the Christmas repertoire and a must for opening any seasonal orchestral concert. It was commissioned by John Rutter and features on his latest festive disc, A Christmas Festival, released in 2008 on the Collegium label, his first Christmas disc for 20 years. The Overture featured in the 2008 programmes of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia and has already been programmed in the US and UK for the 2009 season.
Click here for an audio clip.
Further Christmas repertoire:
Other selected Christmas repertoire from the Faber catalogue includes:
Sir Malcolm Arnold
The Song of Simeon
A Nativity Masque for mimers, soloists, SATB chorus and orchestra
30 minutes
Benjamin Britten
Men of Goodwill (Variations on a Christmas Carol ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’)
orchestra
8 minutes
Carl Davis
A Christmas Carol – Suite
Suite from the ballet for orchestra
15 minutes
The Nativity Story
Narrator & orchestra
13 minutes
Kevin Townend
The Twelve Days of Christmas
solo voice, SATB chorus and orchestra
5 minutes
For a list of Christmas choral repertoire from the Faber catalogue, please click here.