Program

Mozart Overture to the Magic Flute
Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel Prelude
Pierpont Tintinabulations
Bach Little Suite
Anderson Christmas Festival

Selections with Cape Ann Symphony Singers under the direction of Wendy Betts

Program Notes

Overture to the Magic Flute
The three opening chords of the overture supposedly have some mystical significance in the Masonic order.  Beyond this, Mozart takes a single, cheerful theme and transforms it in ways that can only be described as magical.

Hansel and Gretel Prelude
Engelbert Humperdinck (no, not the pop singer) wrote this lovely prelude to his fairy tale opera.  The music is evocative of the magic and mysteries of childhood, yet fitting for an adult audience.  It is built around themes or motives which are related to some of the most significant elements of the play.

Tintinabulations
As if the original 1857 version of Jingle Bells isn’t fun enough, here we hear Pierpont’s classic ditty performed as it might have been written by Rossini or Johann Strauss, Jr., and concluding with a big band jazz version that morphs into a hoedown.  James S.Pierpont, incidentally, was a native of Medford, MA.

Little Suite
The Little Suite is comprised of four movements from J.S. Bach’s Anna Magdalena Notebook.  The ravishing minuet that opens this selection is one of the most loved and familiar of Bach’s works.

Christmas Festival
Cambridge, MA born and Harvard student and professor, Leroy Anderson captured the spirit of Christmas with these arrangements of popular Christmas carols.