A Caribbean Holiday (2-Part or Unison Choir, Optional Steel Drum or Mallet Instrument, Piano Accompaniment). The winter holidays remind us of cold weather, snow, and winter coats. Singers will begin this multicultural holiday number all bundled up and then reveal their island apparel under those stuffy jackets! Everyone will enjoy singing about Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa this year where it?s warm - even if it?s only on stage! Appropriate and accessible for a Children?s or Middle School Choir?s school or concert program. Set of Parts.

Gottschalk was one of America's firstimportant composers. His numerous worksfor piano are mostly light. His Marche desGibaros from the Souvenir de Porto Ricotranscribed by Karl Hinterbichler is lively andbright. American born Louis MoreauGottschalk (1829-1869) was one of thegreat pianist/composers of his day. Hebegan his career in Europe but spent mostof his life touring from coast to coast in theUS, as well as South America, and theCaribbean.

He composed more than 100 works whichcombine the typical European Romanticvirtuoso style with musical traditions fromSouth America, the Caribbean, Spain andsacred and popular songs from the UnitedStates.

Originally for solo piano, Souvenir de PortoRico (op. 31), bears the subtitle Marche desGibaros, a reference to the peasants of theisland. The simple melody derives from aPuerto Rican song 'Si me dan pasteles, lesdénmelos calientes,' 'If you give me cakes,give them to me hot,' sung by strollingmusicians during the Puerto RicanChristmas season. This simple melody isthen subjected to a series of variations. Themusic depicts the sound of strollingmusicians, first heard in the distance,coming ever closer, rising to a climax andthen fading as the Gibaros march away intothe distance. The syncopated rhythmsstrongly suggest its Caribbean origins.

Instrumentation is for 2 Trumpets in Bb(Trumpet 1 doubles on Piccolo), Horn,Trombone and Tuba.