José Feliciano

Feliz Navidad

Latin arrangement with ballad as introduction.
Instrumentation: saxophone quartet s/aatb

This song was composed in 1970 by José Feliciano - according to his own statement in only about five minutes. In the years that followed, this simple yet catchy melody developed into a popular Christmas song around the world.

Inspired by a vocal version, we have created our arrangement:

A beautiful ballad forms the beginning, before Feliz Navidad starts like a moment of surprise. Take your time with the ballad, play the note values to the full and let your voices intertwine musically and harmonically - the effect unfolds all by itself.

After the break in bar 19, the actual song begins in bar 20 at a tempo almost twice as fast. The faster you play, the greater the surprise effect, especially if you don't reveal the title in advance...But even without the introduction, the piece works perfectly if only the main theme is to be played. An arrangement with a double effect, almost like a present under the Christmas tree - the ballad as a shiny package with a bow, and the cheerful hit as the radiant content inside! This contrast creates a completely new approach to a well-known Christmas hit - an arrangement that will remain in the memory of both the audience and the musicians and give (pre-)joy.