2024 HOLIDAY CONCERT SERIES

For the Birds!

The Twelve Days of… UNUSUAL Gifts!

“On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…”. This holiday season, we use the 12 unusual “gifts” sequentially, to inspire each selection of the repertoire. This will be readily apparent from the first note and throughout the concert. Our search has revealed quite a variety of musical styles: folk song, bluegrass ballad, Renaissance madrigal, a choral transcription from Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals, a jazzy adaptation from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, and a few familiar and lesser-known carols! Oh, and did we mention Rutter??

The beloved(?) song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, made its first printed appearance in an English children’s book in 1780, but underwent many variations until the version by Frederic Austin in 1909 that we know today. It has sometimes been understood to discreetly impart Christian doctrine among persecuted Christians, but that theory has essentially been debunked. After all, how secret can it be if it mentions Christmas in every verse? We will not hereby attempt to distill the ultimate meaning of this popular holiday party song. However, most likely, it is simply a silly song which serves as kind of a memory game for both children and adults! In fact, we look forward to inviting YOU to help “introduce” each selection by joining in the singing of the relevant lyric, preceding each piece!

Our concert will commence with Ashley Wilkinson’s own premiere of a new choral setting of The Twelve Days…, entitled My True Love Gave Unto Me! We look forward to sharing this unique spin on The Twelve Days of Christmas.

~ Michael Dell, Artistic Director