Pat-a-pan

The tenth piece in the concert is entitled Pat-a-pan. It is an arrangement written by Robert Longfield (see below) in 2007 of the popular French Christmas song, based on a treatment written in 1995 for the popular Neoclassical new-age music group Mannheim Steamroller by Chip David (see also below).

“Patapan” (or “Pat-a-pan”) is a French Christmas carol in Burgundian dialect, later adapted into English. It was written by Bernard de La Monnoye (1641–1728) and first published in Noël bourguignons in 1720. Its original title is “Guillô, Pran Ton Tamborin” (“Willie, Bring Your Little Drum” or “Willie, Take Your Little Drum”). The carol revolves around the birth of Jesus Christ, and is told from the perspective of shepherds playing simple instruments—flutes and drums—the onomatopoetic sound of which gives the song its name; “patapan” is meant to mimic the sound of the drum, and an accompanying lyric, “tu-re-lu-re-lu” the flute. This is similar conceptually to the carol “The Little Drummer Boy”, with its chorus of “pa-rum-pa-pum-pum”.

Mannheim Steamroller is an American Neoclassical new-age music group founded by Chip Davis, that is known primarily for its Fresh Aire series of albums, which blend classical music with elements of new age and rock, and for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.

Mannheim Steamroller began as an alias for record producer and composer Chip Davis. The name “Mannheim Steamroller” comes from an 18th-century German musical technique, Mannheim roller (German: Mannheimer Walze), a crescendo passage having a rising melodic line over an ostinato bass line, popularized by the Mannheim school of composition. Before the fame of Steamroller, Davis had been best known for collaborating with his friend Bill Fries on the songs of the country music character “C. W. McCall” (of “Convoy” fame). Even before the height of McCall's popularity, Davis produced an unusual album of classical music performed entirely by Davis and musical collaborator and keyboardist Jackson Berkey, using electric bass (played by Eric Hansen) and synthesizers.

Chip Davis’ arrangement of “Pat-A-Pan” comes from Mannheim Steamroller’s third Christmas album, Christmas in the Aire. The album was originally released in 1995, and was the biggest-selling holiday album in the United States that year with sales of 1,844,000. As of November 2014, Christmas in the Aire is the fifth best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the U.S., having sold 3,740,000.

Louis F. “Chip” Davis Jr. (born 1947) is the founder and leader of Mannheim Steamroller, and has also written and made other albums such as Day Parts and written several books. He began piano lessons at age 4 and had composed his first piece of music at age 6. He graduated from Sylvania High School and went on to graduate from the University of Michigan music school, specializing in bassoon and percussion. After touring with the Norman Luboff Choir, he took a job with an Omaha, Nebraska, advertising agency writing jingles. These included spots for a local bakery featuring the fictional trucker C. W. McCall. The spots were co-written with the advertising writer William Fries, who became the voice of McCall. The spots were so popular that they were persuaded to begin writing non-advertising songs featuring McCall. The duo released six albums between 1974 and 1979. In 1990, the duo released "The Real McCall" which rerecorded several of their best and one new song. In 2003, Davis and Fries made one more album together called "American Spirit". Davis was named SESAC Country Music Writer of the Year in 1976.

Davis founded Mannheim Steamroller in 1974 to showcase his interest in fusing modern popular and classical techniques. The first album, Fresh Aire, was completed shortly after. It was turned down by major record labels so Davis founded American Gramaphone to release it. American Gramaphone has been the label for all subsequent Mannheim Steamroller releases. Eight Fresh Aire albums were released, concluding with Fresh Aire 8 in 2000. Mannheim Steamroller released Mannheim Steamroller Christmas in 1984; Davis is credited with revolutionizing the “traditional” sounds of Christmas. The group's subsequent Christmas music albums have sold tens of millions of copies and become among the most popular recordings in that genre. His annual Mannheim Steamroller Christmas concert tour, utilizing two cover bands which tour simultaneously, has continued for over 25 years across the US. Davis was awarded his 19th Gold Record in 2010. The Recording Industry Association of America has also awarded Davis four Multi-Platinum and eight Platinum records.

Arranger Robert “Bob” Longfield (b. 1947) was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned a bachelor of Music Education with honors from the University of Michigan, where he played saxophone, and received his master's degree in Music Education from the University of Miami. For fifteen years, Longfield was the band and orchestra director at Davison High School in Davison, Michigan. Since 1987, he has held a similar position at Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Pinecrest, Florida. Longfield was the recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association. In 1996, he received the Mr. Holland Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and Sciences for outstanding contributions to music education.

A member of ASCAP, Longfield has received several commissions and his compositions and arrangements have been played and recorded by bands and orchestras throughout the United States as well as in Europe and Japan. He is currently the Music Director of the Greater Miami Symphonic Band (in addition to his teaching duties at Miami Palmetto). In honor of Longfield's accomplishments, Miami-Dade County officially recognized April 5, 2006 as Robert Longfield Day.

The music for Pat-a-pan was provided for the band by Joe and Terri Ferong.