Arthur Fiedler took great pride in bringing classical music to the world at large. While Leonard Bernstein was busy with his Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Fiedler and his Boston Pops Orchestra (most of the members drawn from the Boston Symphony) gave concerts of popular classics that became a fixture on America’s musical calendar. They made several recordings for Polydor/Deutsche Grammophon and the ever-popular Christmas disc is here reissued with built-in bonus tracks by Bach, Humperdinck and Tchaikovsky, in a sleigh ride, taking the listener from a delightful pot-pourri of carols (‘A Christmas Festival’) arranged by Leroy Anderson to Baroque hits in lush orchestrations to high-energy American Christmas songs – all arranged sumptuously for orchestra.
A Christmas Festival (arr. Anderson)
Joy To the World – Deck The Halls – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Good King Wenceslas – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – The First Noel – Silent Night – Jingle Bells – O Come, All Ye Faithfull
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
Hallelujah Chorus (from Messiah)
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Jesu, joy of man’s desiring
Shepherds’ Music (from Christmas Oratorio)
Adagio (from Sonata No. 3 for Solo Violin, BWV 1005, orch. Bachrich)
Sheep may safely graze
ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK
Dream Pantomime (from Hänsel und Gretel)
PYOR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
The Nutcracker:
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Dance of the Reed Pipes
Waltz of the Flowers
LEOPOLD MOZART
Musical Sleigh Ride
LEROY ANDERSON
Sleigh Ride
JOHN FREDERICK COOTS
Santa Claus is coming to town (arr. Mason)
JOHNNY MARKS
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (arr. Hayman)
IRVING BERLIN
White Christmas (arr. Jack Mason)
Boston Pops Orchestra
Arthur Fiedler
Recordings: Boston Symphony Hall, Boston, USA