Audio & Video. Dirksen’s notated half-note=96 is unplayable – he’s merely saying NOT TOO SLOW. But the circumstances of its composition actually dictate the tempo: the performance should be exactly 2′ 30″! Also – don’t miss the Choral Arts Society’s orchestral version here as well.
D No: 105
Text - Incipit: All this night shrill Chanticleer
Text - Author or Scripture: William Austin (1587–1634)
Performing Forces: SATB org
Date Published: FL 72
Date of Composition: 1950
Dedication: for Mother
Notes: Composed for a one-half hour Christmas radio broadcast by CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System). The program featured the second cantata from the Christmas Oratorio by Bach, which was 26 minutes long. 2 ½ minutes more were needed, and since the orchestra had to be used, this piece was scored for 2 fls., 2 Eng. hns., strings and organ—the Bach cantata orchestration. The text is by William Austin (1587–1634). In 1959 it was scored for organ alone, and that version is the Flammer publication of 1972. A later orchestral arrangement was made in 1972 for Norman Scribner and the Choral Arts Society to use in their annual Kennedy Center Christmas performances. (2 fls, ob., Eng. hn., bsn., 3 troms., timp., and org.)
This audio is from an NBC live Christmas telecast.
This orchestral version was recorded by Norman Scribner and the Choral Arts Society. The opening is probably quite similar to the original 1950 version, and note the nifty string writing in the bridge!
Categorized as: 100 Sacred Choral Published Works
Tagged as: anthem, brass, carol, Christmas, organ, SATB