The Many Moods of Christmas Ste 2

The Many Moods of Christmas, Suite 2 - Robert Russell Bennett & Russell Shaw, Arr. R. Mark Rogers
In the mid-1940’s, just after WWII, dynamic young choral conductor Robert Shaw, in collaboration with renowned choral arranger Alice Parker, selected and arranged two dozen carols from various cultures for unaccompanied chorus. The Robert Shaw Chorale was subsequently formed to record them for RCA Victor, and they became an instant success. Encouraged by the success, Shaw and Parker arranged and recorded another two dozen carols, again to great popularity. Their successes, plus a recording by noted contralto Marion Anderson, convinced RCA to commission distinguished composer Robert Russell Bennett to select and arrange eighteen of the thirty-six Shaw/Parker carols for large orchestra, chorus, organ, harp, and lute. The result: four marvelous suites titled The Many Moods of Christmas, with Robert Shaw conducting his chorale and the RCA Victor Orchestra. The wind band has long envied the orchestral world because these suites were unavailable until 2019, when this suite was transcribed by Mark Rogers. Included in the band set are the carols Joy to the World, Pastoral Symphony from Handel’s MESSIAH, Away in a Manger, The March of the Three Kings, and Fum, Fum, Fum! (Note by Albert Petrak)
Recorded live, in concert, on December 17, 2023