Irving Berlin

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Swing arrangement for 5 saxophones with tenor solo.
Instrumentation: saxophone quintet s/a-a-a/t-t-b

One of the most famous American Christmas songs is (I'm Dreaming of a) White Christmas, composed by Irving Berlin and originally released in 1942 in a version with Bing Crosby. As the master was used so often that it was eventually damaged, Crosby had to record the same arrangement again in 1947, with the violins more present in the orchestral sound than before, making the song even more successful. This version is the best known and still spreads more Christmas cheer around the world than almost any other Christmas carol.

This arrangement for saxophone quintet, on the other hand, is a classic swing arrangement that is best played in the aattb line-up, i.e. typical big band saxophone line-up. All eighth notes are to be played in triplets/swinging. Short quarter notes should be played with staccato dots, all others should be played wide. The baritone saxophone has the bass function in many places and plays crotchets as "walking". The arrangement should be phrased and articulated in typical "Basie style". In the middle section, sax 3 (preferably with a soft tenor sound) takes center stage as a soloist with the theme, whereby the melody can generally be interpreted somewhat more freely.