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CHRISTMAS MUSIC
with Full Orchestral
Accompaniment
CHRISTMAS FAVOURITES
THE NUTCRACKER
Music by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Arranged by John Montgomery
for Flute or Bb Clarinet and Orchestra
Solo part with Play-Along CD containing Full Orchestral Accompaniment at various speeds (with & without the solo part).
Each volume also contains Practice Suggestions and Historical Information & Background
Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (May 7, 1840 to November 6, 1893) was not included in the “Russian Five” - Modest Musorgsky (1839-1881), Alexander Borodin (1833-1887), Mily Balakirev (1837-1910), César Cui (1835-1918) and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) - because his musical training was felt to be too influenced by German music; however, he is the most famous Russian composer of the Romantic Period (1825-1900).
Of his three big ballets: Swan Lake (Op. 20, 1875-6), Sleeping Beauty (Op. 66, 1888-9), The Nutcracker (Op. 71, 1891-2) was the last; The Nutcracker Suite (Op. 71a, a Suite is music taken from a larger work) was first performed on March 19, 1892 (conducted by Tchaikovsky) - nine months before the ballet was performed (December 18, 1892 )!
The ballet, based on a story by E. T. A. Hoffmann, is about a little girl (Claire) who receives a wooden nutcracker as a Christmas present; her brother breaks it and she “puts it to bed”. In her dreams the nutcracker becomes the leader of the gingerbread men against the king of the mice - who would have won had Claire not slain the king with her slipper. The nutcracker becomes a handsome prince who takes Claire to the land of the sugar-plum fairy, where toys and sweets celebrate the wedding of Claire to the handsome prince.
In 1891, Tchaikovsky went on a conducting tour, including the USA (he conducted the opening of Carnegie Hall in May, 1891 and also visited Niagara Falls); while in Paris, he was enchanted by a new instrument invented by Auguste Mustel in 1886 - the celesta - which we now associated with The Nutcracker, and specifically The Sugar-Plum Fairy.
The order and titles are different in the Ballet and The Nutcracker Suite - which consists of three main parts: “Overture”, “Characteristic Dances” and “Waltz of the Flowers”. The “Characteristic Dances” are: “March”, “Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy”, “Russian Dance”, “Arabian Dance”, “Chinese Dance” and “Dance of the Reeds”.
In the Ballet, however, “March” is Act I, No. 2, but all of the other movements are from Act II: “Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy” appears near the end of the Ballet (there are 15 numbers and it is Variation 2 of No. 14 “Pas de Deux”) - after “Waltz of the Flowers”, No. 13; “Arabian Dance”, “Chinese Dance” and “Dance of the Reeds”, along with “Russian Dance” are all taken from No. 12 “Divertissement”, in the order of: (a) “Le Chocolat” (Chocolate), (b) “Le Café” (Coffee - Arabian Dance), (c) “Le Thé” (Tea - Chinese Dance), (d) “Trépak” (Russian Dance), (e) “Les Mirlitons” (Dance of the Reeds) and (e) “La Mère Gigogne et les Polichinelles” (usually translated as “Mother Goose”).
$19.95 each volume; curently available:
Solo Flute - The Nutcracker - Volume 1
Solo Flute - The Nutcracker - Volume 2
Solo Bb Clarinet - The Nutcracker - Volume 1
Solo Bb Clarinet - The Nutcracker - Volume 2
CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
18 Traditional Christmas Carols
arranged as duets
with a Play-Along CD and MIDI Files
The CD contains a Full Orchestra Arrangement of each Christmas Carol, played several times (in the same key and at the same speed indicated in the book)
The Solo & Duet parts are side by side and all books are interchangeable (i.e., the Flute book can be played with the Clarinet or Alto Sax book, etc.)
$15.95 each book; available for:
Flute (or two C Instruments - Oboe, Violin, Guitar, Piano, etc.)
Clarinet (or two Bb Instruments - Trumpet, Tenor Sax, etc.)
Alto Saxophone (or two Eb Instruments - Baritone Sax, etc.)
Piano (accompaniment or solo)
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