The History and Lasting Impact of Alfred Reed's Russian Christmas Music

In 1944, in an attempt to improve Soviet-American relations, a holiday symphonic concert was held in Denver, Colorado. The intention was to premiere new works by Soviet and American composers. Sixteen days before the concert, it was discovered that the Soviet music selected to be performed - Prolkofiev's March, Op. 99 - had already premiered in the United States. With only sixteen days, 23-year-old American Alfred Reed was assigned to write a new piece of "Russian music" to be performed at the concert. Thirteen days later, on December 12, 1944, on nationally broadcast NBC radio, "Russian Christmas Music" by Alfred Reed made its debut. Two days later, it was performed in concert in Denver.

"Russian Christmas Music" was influenced by an authentic Russian Christmas song "Carol of the Little Russian Children" used as a theme for the introduction, and Reeds research of the liturgical music of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which is purely vocal and non-instrumental, for thematic ideas to complete the score. One critic wrote "Alfred Reed has captured the sonorities, rhythmic inflections, clarity, and flowing phrases of the human voice in his composition".

The composition is one movement that can be divided into four distinct sections:

The opening, "Carol of the Little Russian Children," is slow-paced and uses an instrumental of bells, tubas and clarinets for its melody. Voices join with the instruments, and the section ends (approximately 3 minutes).

The "Antiphonal Chant" has a more upbeat tempo than the opening and uses an instrumental of trombones, horns, trumpets, and cornets to carry the melody, followed by a more frenzied sound when the woodwinds enter, escalating to a loud ending (approximately 2 minutes).

The "Village Song" is still upbeat but mellower, features solos of the english horns and flutes, bounces between the woodwinds and the brass, softens and ends with a solo of the english horns (approximately 5 minutes).