The 12 Days of Christmas

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Production credits

Commissioned by
Keith Lockhard and the Boston Pops

Additional orchestrations by
Don Sebeskey

Composed and arranged by
David Chase

Specialty lyrics by
David Chase

Notes from David

This arrangement began its life on a hot August day in 2007. Keith Lockhart called and threw down the gauntlet: take one of the most loathed pieces of Christmas music and make it into something fun and unique. I love a good challenge.

We had recently moved into a new apartment and were living in Columbia grad student housing for the summer while renovations were being done in our new place. The Hamilton upright piano was shoved into a corner under stacks of boxes and the room was sweltering. After several stabs at ideas, I started playing with quoting other songs to illuminate each day, with the intent on leaning into music that would allow the orchestra to shine as well. To me the hallmark of any good piece of concert music is that the performers love to play it (or sing it) as much as the audience loves to hear it.

I wrote new intro and connective material, and wrote (or adapted) new lyrics to fit the music. The biggest struggle was "Four Calling Birds" -- I tried to find a better-known piece, but this one kept, well, calling me. Most of them were obvious -- Beethoven's 5th and "Five Golden Rings" was a no-brainer. I was particularly delighted by using the overture to The Magic Flute for "Eleven Pipers Piping" - definitely a deep cut for many, but not for the Pops' audience. And the piece de resistance, Bohemian Rhapsody, was a very natural fit. I knew from the moment it was conceived that this was when the audience would go nuts. And they did from the very first performance.

I kept all the classical and semi-classical pieces in their original keys, and compiled all of the original orchestrations where appropriate. Don Sebeskey did an amazing job of orchestrating all of the connective tissue.

The piece debuted to great success in 2007, then was retired (as is the habit for the Pops). However, so many people wrote letters after the 2008 season expressing that they missed Twelve Days that the Pops added it back in 2009, and is now an expected part of every Boston Pops/Tanglewood Festival Chorus Christmas program. It's also acquired secondary traditions of wacky costume pieces, multiple props, Keith doing the can-can on the podium, and such.

If you're wondering -- even though it's really a composition, not an arrangement, it's fully owned by the Pops, so, no, I don't have permission to license or rent it out. There was talk several years ago of it being published for rental by Hal Leonard but the pandemic hit and no more has been discussed.

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Awards

"David Chase's monstrously inventive arrangement… it surprises every time you hear it"

The New York Times

"Seamless and shameless …the single most delightful holiday piece ever performed"

Michael Levin, The Huffington Post

"Always-enjoyable"

Boston.com

"Chase’s spectacular Twelve Days of Christmas, a musical travelogue... familiar works with laugh-out-loud cleverness"

Boston Classical Review

"No Holiday Pops program would be complete without the Twelve Days of Christmas"

Boston Classical Review

"Stellar… a delightful jigsaw of hidden musical quotations"

Classic FM

"Had the crowd clapping, laughing and singing along... what the definition of showstopper is"

The Daily Free Press

"We have the best arrangement of the Twelve Days of Christmas, hands down. It’s always one of my favorite moments of the Holiday Pops season"

Dennis Alves, Director of Artistic Planning, The Boston Pops

"It had the crowd on its feet, screaming, laughing, and clapping before we were actually on day 12…well-nigh Schickele-worthy"

Tim Jarrett, Jarrett House North

“If someone ever asks you what the definition of showstopper is, that’s it”

Keith Lockhart, Conductor, The Boston Pops quoted in The Daily Free Press

"The best edition of the song yet... hilarious to see the reactions and joyful acts throughout the performance"

Mass Media

"Supercharged"

MetroWest Daily News

"Crowd-pleasing"

The Patriot Ledger

"Wildly popular"

The Boston Calendar

"Hilarious and unconventional… (it) had the crowd clapping, laughing and singing along"

Daily Free Press

"Spectacular… an educational musical masterpiece that you shouldn’t miss"

The River Houses

"Broadway’s top arranger, music director, composer... a legendary holiday piece for the Boston Pops"

MIchael Levin, The Huffington Post

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