Alfred Burt (musician)

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Alfred Shaddick Burt (born April 22, 1920 in Marquette , Michigan , † February 7, 1954 ) was an American jazz musician and composer . He was best known for 15 Christmas carols composed by him .

Life

Alfred Burt was born to Reverend Bates Gilbert Burt of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America . He had two older siblings. When Alfred was two years old, the family moved to Pontiac, Michigan , where his father took over the leadership of the local church.

Alfred studied at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor , where he graduated in 1942.

During World War II , Burt served in the United States Army in Texas as a trumpeter in the US Army Air Force Band . On October 13, 1945 he married the singer Anne Shortt. After Alfred's discharge from military service in 1946 and a short-lived band project, the couple returned to Michigan. After the death of his father in 1948, Alfred continued his career as a musician and composer in New York, where he also taught at the American Theater Wing professional school . In 1949 Burt became a member of the Alvino Rey Orchestra . His wife Anne stayed in Michigan, where their only child, Diane Bates Burt, was born on March 8, 1950. In the spring of 1950 the family moved to Los Angeles . Burt has worked as an arranger for bands such as Hal Richards , Horace Heidt and Alvino Rey.

In 1953, Burt was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died on February 7, 1954, at the age of only 33.

The tradition of musical Christmas greetings

In the 1920s, Bates G. Burt had begun to write a Christmas carol every year and send it to relatives and friends as a Christmas card . In 1942 Alfred Burt took over this tradition from his father, although in the first few years he still set texts by his father to music. In later years, the texts mostly came from the organist Wihla Hutson. Outside of the circle of recipients of these Christmas cards, Burt's songs initially remained largely unknown. Only one song was performed publicly during his lifetime: in 1953, the well-known singing group The Blue Reys received one of Burt's Christmas cards and was so impressed with Come, Dear Children that they performed the piece on the King Sisters' annual Christmas TV show .

List of Christmas carols by Alfred S. Burt

  1. Christmas Cometh Caroling (1942)
  2. Jesus Parvule (1943)
  3. What Are the Signs (1944)
  4. Ah, Bleak and Chill the Wintry Wind (1945)
  5. All on A Christmas Morning (1946)
  6. Nigh Bethlehem (1947)
  7. Christ in the Stranger's Guise (1948)
  8. Sleep Baby Mine (1949)
  9. This Is Christmas (also known as Bright, Bright, the Holly Berries ) (1950)
  10. Some Children See Him (1951)
  11. Come, Dear Children (1952)
  12. O, Hearken Ye (1953)
  13. Caroling, Caroling (1954)
  14. We'll Dress the House (1954)
  15. The Star Carol (1954)

Recordings

James Conkling, President of Columbia Records , heard the Blue Reys perform and made Alfred Burt an offer to release an album of some of his older Christmas carols. In addition, he should write four new pieces. He completed this work two days before his death. The album produced by Buddy Cole with the title The Christmas Mood was released in the run-up to Christmas 1954 and contained a total of twelve songs. However, the album was not a great success. Anne Burt, however, continued to promote the compositions of her late husband.

In 1958 the album The Star Carol by Tennessee Ernie Ford was released , which is named after Burt's last work, which is included on it, along with Some Children See Him .

In 1959, Fred Waring and his band The Pennsylvanians released the Christmas album The Sounds of Christmas , which includes six of Burt's Christmas carols.

In 1960 Nat King Cole recorded Caroling, Caroling for his Christmas album The Magic of Christmas . The piece became a worldwide success. Long after his death, his daughter Natalie Cole expanded the recording into a duet , which was also very successful.

The first complete recording of Burt's carols published in 1964, ten years after his death, under the title This Is Christmas: A Complete Collection of the Alfred P. Burt Carols received by the sixteen-member, a cappella - vocal ensemble The Voices of Jimmy Joyce . The album was nominated for a Grammy .

On the 1972 released album Christmas by The Singers Unlimited six included Burts carols.

The Boston Pops Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus recorded several medleys of Burt Christmas carols (arranged by Alexander Courage ) under the direction of multiple Oscar winner John Williams . They are included on the albums We Wish You A Merry Christmas and Joy to the World .

In 2000 the CD Some Children See Him by the barbershop quartet Gas House Gang was released , which includes Caroling, Caroling in addition to the title track .

In 2003, the vocal octet The Caroling Company , founded by Burt's daughter Diane, released the album A Christmas Present From the Caroling Company , which includes 16 other pieces and 9 carols by Alfred Burt.

To date, hundreds of different artists have recorded at least individual songs by Burt. These include James Taylor , Simon & Garfunkel , Kenny Loggins and Andy Williams , Johnny Mathis , Maureen McGovern , Julie Andrews , Dave Grusin , The Hi-Lo’s , Peggy Lee , the pianist George Winston and James Taylor.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ace Collins: Caroling, Caroling in: Stories Behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas , Zondervan, 2010, ISBN 978-0310597476
  2. ↑ Singers Unlimited at www.singers.com
  3. ↑ Gas Hounse Gang at www.singers.com
  4. ↑ Marshall Smith: Alfred Burt's daughter Diane takes up his tradition , Idyllwild Town Crier, December 20, 2017
  5. ↑ Diane Burt on www.thecrolingcompany.com
  6. ^ Ace Collins: Caroling, Caroling in: Stories Behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas , Zondervan, 2010, ISBN 978-0310597476
  7. ↑ Discography on www.alfredburtcarols.com
  8. ↑ December on www.georgewinston.com
  9. ↑ James Taylor at Christmas at www.jamestaylor.com
personal data
SURNAME Burt, Alfred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Burt, Alfred Shaddick (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician and composer
DATE OF BIRTH April 22, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Marquette , Michigan , USA
DATE OF DEATH 7th February 1954