Porgy and Bess (Gershwin)

Four numbers from Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess":

1) Summertime

Scoring: Wind decet plus optional double bass

Date: 2026

A wind decet arrangement of the famous song "Summertime", in which the flute takes the leading solo role (originally sung by Bess) followed by the oboe. Both should be played with as much laid-back blues-iness as possible. The horns, bassoons and cor anglais provide the opening downward chord sequence to D major to provide a silky smooth atmosphere for the two solo instruments, while other instruments supply delicate background sparkles. Imagine a lazy hot day by a gently flowing river!

Links: pdf (score) - pdf (parts) - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6

2) It ain't necessarily so

Scoring: Wind decet plus optional double bass

Date: 2026

A wind decet arrangement of the eccentric song "It ain't necessarily so" from the opera. After a noisy introduction with all instruments playing, the two clarinets provide the sleasy solo line, echoed each time by several other instruments. This is contrasted by the triplet-based theme (accompanied by a marching, duplet rhythm), which appears both in the middle and also near the end. It should all be played with plenty of razzmatazz.

Links: pdf (score) - pdf (parts) - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6

3) Bess, you is my woman

Scoring: Wind decet plus optional double bass

Date: 2026

A wind decet arrangement of the romantic song "Bess, you is my woman" from the opera. The cor anglais starts straight away with Porgy's theme, while the bassoons, horns and clarinets provide a jaunty accompaniment which drives the song along. On a couple of occasions, after a slightly faster passage, a beautifully tender repeated quaver passage is played by the piccolo, flute or oboe, giving a feeling of genuine affection to the song.

Links: pdf (score) - pdf (parts) - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6

4) I got plenty o' nuttin'

Scoring: Wind decet plus optional double bass and voices

Date: 2026

A final wind decet arrangement of the crazy song "I got plenty o'nuttin'" from the opera, with the possibility of including singers on the vocal line. The song is marked "Moderato con gioia" ("with joy"!) This is an opportunity perhaps to include the audience sing along, as the melody and lyrics are highly memorable and great fun. A mandolin is sometimes used to accompany the voices, and here it is the cor anglais which again gets to double the melody in the first verse. However, the entry of the piccolo in the second verse confirms the levity of this song and it ends, after a spoken "no use complaining!", with a bass flourish in the clarinets and bassoons.

Links: pdf (score) - pdf (parts) - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6

Nobody knows the trouble I see

Scoring: TTBB barbershop quartet

Date: 2026

A setting of the popular African-American Spiritual "Nobody knows the trouble I see" arranged for TTBB barbershop quartet. There are at least two major melodies to this song and many versions of each. I have taken the version used by Michael Tippett in his "A Child of our Time" Oratorio and made it my own. It is designed to be relatively easy to sing, while retaining its vitality and rhythmic drive.

Links: pdf - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6

Lyrics

Chorus:

Nobody knows the trouble I see, Lord,

nobody knows the trouble I see.

Nobody knows the trouble I see, Lord,

nobody knows like Jesus.

1.

O brother, pray for me,

O brother, pray for me,

O brother, pray for me,

help me to drive ol' Satan away.

2.

O sister, pray for me,

O sister, pray for me,

O sister, pray for me,

help me to drive ol' Satan away.

3.

O mother, pray for me,

O mother, pray for me,

O mother, pray for me,

help me to drive ol' Satan away.

Infant lowly, infant holy

Scoring: SATB choir and piano

Date: 2026

"Infant lowly, Infant holy" is a traditional Polish Christmas carol with a very beautiful, simple melody. David Willcox's arrangement in OUP's "Carols for Choirs" with its slightly complex cross-rhythms is well known. In this setting I have re-cast the carol in three verses with a piano accompaniment and a more straighforward rhythmical structure. However, it includes a richer harmonic accompaniment and a running piano line over the top of the melody. It should be played and sung with a lilt, as indicated by the dynamic hair-pins so that it retains its rocking gentleness.

The words were translated into English by Edith M Reed in the early twentieth century.

Links: pdf - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6

The Dargason (Holst)

Scoring: Wind decet, plus optional double bass

Date: 2025

A wind decet arrangement of the fourth movement of Gustav Holst's "St Paul's Suite" for string orchestra, entitled "The Dargason". The Dargason is a popular dance melody dating back to the 16th century with a simple eight bar structure which simply rolls on and on as the dancers weave in and out! Holst's accompaniment, however, is full of interest and he cleverly weaves another ancient and well loved melody into the piece: Greensleeves. This gives the work an unexpected and delightful countermelody which occurs twice, the first time as a barely audible background and the second time as the work's climax. This arrangement for wind decet includes a piccolo and a cor anglais, with an optional part for double bass.

Links: pdf (score) - pdf (parts) - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6

Romanian Folk Dances (Bartok)

Scoring: Wind decet plus optional double bass

Date: 2025

These six or seven (the last two are often considered to be just one) folk dances from Romania were originally composed by Bela Bartok in 1915 for piano solo. They have been extremely popular ever since perhaps in part because, despite each being so short (about one minute), they do seem to create a wonderful linear progression, with the last few increasing gradually in tempo until the brilliant ending of the final dance. They are also extremely attractive melodies.

This arrangement which derives principally from Bartok's subsequent chamber orchestra version tries to maintain and enhance the different colour of each dance by using the different instruments of the wind decet in a variety of ways. The piccolo clearly has a starring roll in the third movement (as Bartok himself scored it), but also swapping the melody between first and second of a particular instrument (e.g. 1st and 2nd oboe) can create a new texture to a repeated musical line. I hope players and listeneners alike will enjoy its kaleidoscope of sounds.

Links: pdf (score) - pdf (parts) - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6

Le Tombeau de Couperin (Ravel)

Scoring: Wind decet plus optional double bass

Date: 2025

Two movements from Ravel's sparkling suite "Le Tombeau de Couperin" arranged for wind decet: "Menuet" and "Rigaudon". 

Menuet:

The original tempo of this gorgeous minuet by Maurice Ravel, taken from his suite of pieces for piano (and subsequently arranged for orchestra), is marked Allegro moderato. However, no one performs it as an Allegro, neither pianists nor orchestras, as it is the most laid-back of melodies, reminiscent of lazy summer afternoons on a lake. I have therefore marked the arrangement Allegretto moderato, aiming to retain its lightness and motion without sounding rushed. In this wind decet version I have otherwise followed Ravel's markings and instrumentation wherever possible. The oboe takes the lead throughout most of the piece, except in the middle section, which is much more mysterious and where there are repeated waves of instrumental colours. After the recapitulation the piece concludes in a lovely downward sweep from the piccolo to the bassoons, followed by an almost jazzy double trill on the clarinets.

Links: pdf (score) - pdf (parts) - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6

Rigaudon:

A rustic French dance, the Rigaudon is lively, exuberant and fast (marked Assez vif.) The second flute has his or her work cut out in a couple of sections, as in Ravel's original orchestration, but otherwise it is all quite playable and mostly "sits under the fingers" for the decet players. The middle section suddenly slows down and the oboe takes the lead in a sensuous dance accompanied by a gentle rhythmical feature, until the first theme breaks through once again. The ending is subtely different from the first section, however, leading to the different key of F major, only to be replaced - satisifyingly - in the final two bars by the original key of C major.

Links: pdf (score) - pdf (parts) - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6

Blumen-Walzer

Scoring: 2 flutes + string quintet

Date: 2025

Ernesto Köhler's Blumen-Walzer/Valse des Fleurs/Flower Waltz, originally for 2 flutes and piano, with the piano part here arranged for string quintet - attractive and fun, just as you would expect for a Viennese waltz!

Links: pdf (score) - pdf (parts) - mp3 - midi - mxl - sib - sib 6