Mr. Fezziwig’s Ball

Mr. Fezziwig’s Ball from A Christmas Carol

The composer writes:

In 2019, I wrote a piece for narrator and brass titled A Christmas Carol, based on the famous Dickens story, which incorporates traditional carols along with original material. My good friend and bandmate, Bryan Hay, was particularly taken with a short segment called “Fezziwig’s Ball,” which reimagines “Deck the Halls” in an Elizabethan style.

The original narration for this section read: “Scrooge awoke to a flash of light and saw a strange, childlike figure standing next to his bed. The spirit proclaimed, ‘I am the Ghost of Christmas Past,’ as they were transported back in time to Fezziwig’s shop, Scrooge’s first job. The people there could not see or hear Scrooge or the spirit as Scrooge observed himself as a young man. ‘Yo ho, Ebenezer!’ said Fezziwig. ‘No more work tonight, it’s Christmas Eve!  There was a party with dancing, food and fun, with the young Scrooge having the merriest time of all. The older Scrooge watched the scene and smiled for the first time in years, then was whisked back to his bed and fell asleep.’”

For a couple of years, Bryan has been asking me to adapt this piece for the Mainstreet Brass Quintet. Around Thanksgiving 2025, I finally relented, adding new material and expanding it into a full concert-worthy work for brass quintet and percussion.

Percussion: Tambourine, Finger Cymbals, Tenor Drum, Bass Drum