Hans Christian Andersen Suite for Concert Band by Tom Munsell

VIDEO SCORE: Hans Christian Andersen is a Danish Storyteller most famous for his fairy tales. The first movement of the suite is biographical. He was an only child growing up alone. His father built him a puppet theater where his imagination started creating stories. The second is The Snow Queen. A young man and woman are planning a life together. But a cursed mirror falls and shatters. Tiny fragments pierce his eyes and heart. The Snow Queen takes him to the far north. The maiden's resolve saves him and they are reunited. The third is the story of the Little Mermaid. But the real story did not end happily. She had a choice to kill the Prince or dissolve onto sea foam. She dissolves into sea foam and her soul is redeemed by the Divine. Fourth is the Emperor's New Clothes. Weavers say they can create a cloth only the enlightened can see, since the Emperor is the most wise, only he and his advisors can see it. The Emperor parades through town where a small child says, He's not wearing any clothes. The nobles realize the truth where they run off embarrassed . And Fifth is The Ugly Duckling. Somehow a swan's egg got moved into a duck's nest. The baby swan is ridiculed for being an ugly duckling. But after the cold winter, the spring thaw reveals the truth.