Cuban Christmas
The Sarahbanda
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 28th November 2025
-
Opus Klassik Awards, 2026, Winner - Instrumentalist of the Year
The Cuban Nutcracker Suite stands comparison with Duke Ellington’s iconic 1960 reworking of the piece, with a sassily swung Overture showcasing Willis’s fabulous lower register and the Trepak...
Cuban Christmas
The Sarahbanda
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 28th November 2025
-
Opus Klassik Awards, 2026, Winner - Instrumentalist of the Year
The Cuban Nutcracker Suite stands comparison with Duke Ellington’s iconic 1960 reworking of the piece, with a sassily swung Overture showcasing Willis’s fabulous lower register and the Trepak...
About
Sarah Willis, horn-player of the Berliner Philharmoniker, teams up with the Sarahbanda for a celebration of the vibrant Cuban Christmas rhythms. The album injects the colourful, contagious energy of Cuban music into a selection of timeless holiday classics – some featuring vocals from Carlos Calunga, of Buena Vista Social Club fame. It also includes works by Bach and Tchaikovsky – these too reimagined with Cuban flair. “The result”, says Willis, “is a joyful mix of favourites like Jingle Bells and Silent Night, all infused with the irresistible grooves of salsa, mambo, bolero and so on. And for something extra special, we’ve given Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no.3 a true Havana heartbeat.”
“Cuban Christmas is a celebration of culture, connection, and the music that makes the season magical,” says Sarah Willis. “I truly hope it brings as much happiness to your home as it brought to mine while creating it.”
Contents and tracklist
- Carlos Calunga (vocalist), Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Carlos Calunga (vocalist), Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Yuniet Lombida Prieto (saxophone)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
- Carlos Calunga (vocalist), Sarah Willis (horn)
- The Sarahbanda
- Recorded: 2025-03
- Recording Venue: Traumton Studios, Berlin
Spotlight on this release
Awards and reviews
-
Presto Recording of the Week28th November 2025
-
Opus Klassik Awards2026Winner - Instrumentalist of the Year
28th November 2025
The Cuban Nutcracker Suite stands comparison with Duke Ellington’s iconic 1960 reworking of the piece, with a sassily swung Overture showcasing Willis’s fabulous lower register and the Trepak reimagined as a riotous conga. But there’s delicacy aplenty too, especially in the spiced-up 'Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy' and the guajira-inflected 'Waltz of the Flowers'.