\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 25 best Christmas carols of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
The best Christmas classical music albums and recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
10 of the best Christmas musicals<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
Michael Bubl\u00e9\u2019s Christmas songs: 5 of the best for the festive period<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div> <\/section><\/div>\n\n
Did Blake work closely with Briggs when he was writing the score?<\/b><\/h2>\n\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\nIt might be surprising to hear that Blake wrote the whole score without once meeting Briggs. Apparently the two artists had very different attitudes to The Snowman.<\/em> While Blake was obviously proud of it, Briggs called it \u2018The \u2018S\u2019 word\u2019, insisting that Christmas was over-sentimental and that his book on which the film was based was actually about mortality.<\/div>\n\n
Nonetheless, Blake did eventually meet and befriend him, and was one of the artists paying tribute to Briggs when he died in August this year.<\/div>\n\n
Has the music been adapted for other\u00a0dramatic forms?<\/b><\/h2>\n\nYes, Blake\u2019s concert version of\u00a0The Snowman\u00a0<\/i>for narrator and orchestra is now performed all over the world, as is the full-length ballet version. Over the years, Blake has agreed to several arrangements of the music. However, last year he opposed plans for a new BBC radio version of \u2018The Snowman\u2019<\/a><\/strong> that\u00a0was to have been sung rather than played on instruments. Speaking to BBC Radio 4\u2019s PM programme, he said, \u2018I care a great deal about\u00a0The Snowman.\u00a0<\/i>What scares me is that if we\u00a0have an arrangement that mocks it and sounds silly, it will take a great deal of pleasure away from the world. I don\u2019t approve of this arrangement.\u2019<\/div>\n\n
\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n
Music gifts for kids: 10 Christmas present ideas for music-loving children<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n
10 pieces of classical music for children<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n
How can I get my child into classical music?<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div> <\/section><\/div>\n\n
How would you describe the music?<\/b><\/h2>\n\nEvocative and nostalgic without being derivative. Blake uses the orchestra as a gigantic artist\u2019s palette, with many colourfully inventive, often humorous, touches. But the score\u2019s standout feature is its lyricism. When I interviewed him for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra a few years ago<\/a><\/strong> Blake declared that \u2018the essential ingredient of all great music is melody\u2019 and described himself as an \u2018extreme enemy\u2019 of contemporary composers such as Pierre Boulez, who kick back against that notion. \u2018The last laugh is with me at the moment,\u2019 Blake said, \u2018There are far more people who know \u2018Walking in the Air\u2019 than know a piece by Boulez\u2019.<\/div>\n\n
Any other pieces by Blake we should know about?<\/b><\/h2>\n\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\nYes, far from being a one-trick-pony, Blake has written many, similarly melodious pieces, among them the Piano Concerto, which was commissioned for Princess Diana<\/a><\/strong>\u2018s 30th birthday and The Station, <\/i>his witty 1991 chamber opera for five singers and two tea ladies that deserves more performances than it gets.<\/div>\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n
10 unforgettable Christmas adverts with the best music<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n
The best TV theme tunes<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div> <\/section><\/div>\n\n
Photo: BBC<\/em><\/div><\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Hannah Nepilova Published: Wednesday, 16 November 2022 at 12:00 am Who wrote the music to The Snowman and when? The composer Howard Blake wrote the music in 1982 for the British animated film based on the late Raymond Briggs\u2019s 1978 picture book of the same name about a little boy who befriends a snowman. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":21340,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/the-snowman-a-guide-to-the-music-of-this-festive-classic-and-who-actually-sung-walking-in-the-air.jpg",1600,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/the-snowman-a-guide-to-the-music-of-this-festive-classic-and-who-actually-sung-walking-in-the-air-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/the-snowman-a-guide-to-the-music-of-this-festive-classic-and-who-actually-sung-walking-in-the-air-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/the-snowman-a-guide-to-the-music-of-this-festive-classic-and-who-actually-sung-walking-in-the-air-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/the-snowman-a-guide-to-the-music-of-this-festive-classic-and-who-actually-sung-walking-in-the-air-1024x576.jpg",800,450,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/the-snowman-a-guide-to-the-music-of-this-festive-classic-and-who-actually-sung-walking-in-the-air-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/the-snowman-a-guide-to-the-music-of-this-festive-classic-and-who-actually-sung-walking-in-the-air.jpg",1600,900,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Hannah Nepilova Published: Wednesday, 16 November 2022 at 12:00 am Who wrote the music to The Snowman and when? The composer Howard Blake wrote the music in 1982 for the British animated film based on the late Raymond Briggs\u2019s 1978 picture book of the same name about a little boy who befriends a snowman.…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/21339"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}