Work Information
Anne Phillips : Bending Towards the Light...A Jazz Nativity
| Publisher |
Shawnee Press |
Category |
Opera and Music Theatre |
| Sub-Category |
Theatre |
Year Composed |
1996 |
| Duration |
1 Hour, 15 Minutes |
Solo Voice(s) |
Narrator, Soprano, Singer, Bass, Tenor, Boy Soprano, SATB jazz quartet, male and female jazz duo |
| Chorus |
SATB Chorus |
Solo Instrument(s) |
Three Kings: horn king, tap king (dancer), percussion (or hn) king |
| Orchestration |
10-piece jazz ensemble: reed 1(asx,cl,fl), reed 2(tsx,barsx), tpt, tbn, pf, gtr, db, dmkit, congas, perc; optional guest instrumentalists |
Availability |
Hire Explain this... |
Programme Note
Bending Towards the Light...A Jazz Nativity is available in a new ensemble version. It can be performed with a cast of sixteen musicians and singers, many of whom play multiple roles. The first performance of the show in this form was took place at Birdland, New York City's famed jazz club, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day of December 2006. The singers in the four-voice vocal group — who played the roles of the Host, Mary, Joseph, and the Guardian Angels — joined the soprano Archangel, the tap dancing King, and the Shepherd Boy in the seven-voice choir. Simple costuming and staging made the transitions quick and effective.
Composer note:
Bending Towards the Light...A Jazz Nativity is the traditional Christmas story told through the medium of jazz. The roles of the Shepherds, the Kings, the Angels, and Mary and her Spirit, are played by singers, dancers, and jazz musicians. A ten-piece jazz ensemble, a full choir, and two children are included in the cast. From the opening bars of "Silent Night" (played in the darkness), moving to the arrival of the "Jazz Kings" when the orchestra plays "We Three Kings," travelling to the finale of "Deck the Halls" (when guest jazz artists come up from the audience to join in the celebration), Bending Towards the Light is a fusion of holiday joy, spirituality, and jazz history.
— Anne Phillips
Reviews
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With its lively music, costumes, and powerful spirit, it will continue to enchant audiences lucky enough to see it.
Myrna Daniels , L.A. Jazz Scene
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Whether you're on or off the stage, by the end of the "Jazz Nativity" you know you've been through something wonderful...a stirring celebration of Christmas.
Billy Taylor , CBS Sunday Morning
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Chicago has never lacked for holiday shows, what with all the "Messiahs," "Nutcrackers," and "Christmas Carols" that proliferate at this time of year. Yet glorious though they are, none of these classics is half so giddy, not so utterly entertaining, as the "Jazz Nativity" that burst onto the stage of Orchestra Hall...one of its finest jazz events in recent years. "Jazz Nativity" deserves to become a holiday tradition.
Howard Reich , Chicago Tribune
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Performed outside New York for the first time ever, this swingin' take on yule tunes succeeded beyond imagining Sunday at Orchestra Hall. After wallowing in the crowd-pleasing delights of "A Jazz Nativity," the only real question is what took it so long to get here?
Kevin M. Williams , Chicago Sun-Times
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