Malcolm Arnold's Four Scottish Dances for Large Wind Ensemble

Four Scottish Dances by Sir Malcolm Arnold 

Arranged for Large Wind Ensemble (10 to 13 instruments) by Hugh Levey with permission from the Late Composer's Estate.

Sir Malcolm Arnold's entertaining Four Scottish Dances were commissioned by the BBC Light Music Festival in 1957 and were first performed in that year by the BBC Concert Orchestra.

This arrangement for Large Wind Ensemble has been written to be effective and enjoyable as a double wind quintet or as a larger ensemble of up to 13 wind instruments. The latter matches the instrumentation of Richard Strauss’s Suite in Bb Opus 4 and his Serenade in Eb Opus 7, which are both scored for double woodwind, four horns and a contrabassoon. An optional timpani part is also included in this arrangement. The double wind quintet parts are required, but all the other parts are optional and can be added in any combination.

Scoring:

Core - Piccolo, Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns

Optional - Contrabassoon/Double Bass, Additional 2 Horns, Timpani

Although the composer did not give titles to the movements, he described the first as a 'slow strathspey', with its characteristic Scotch snaps. Arnold annotates this movement as "Pesante" which implies that it is heavy or even ponderous. The second dance is a fast reel where the key rises a semitone for each verse, until interrupted by a much slower version of the tune played by the bassoon. After the slower section we return to the fast reel for the remainder of the movement. Malcolm Arnold described the third dance as being, 'in the style of a Hebridean song and attempts to give an impression of the sea and mountain scenery on a calm summer’s day in the Hebrides'. It is a beautiful melody that sounds like a traditional Scottish Air, suitable for a slow waltz, but it was composed by Arnold himself. The composer describes the last dance as a 'lively fling which makes a
great deal of use of the open strings of the violins'. In this version the open strings are played by the clarinets. It is a lively movement that ends the dances with a fast and furious presto.

This Large Woodwind Ensemble/Double Wind Quintet arrangement of Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances opus 59 was written for Frank Molano and the New Directions Chamber Winds of Florida, USA. Woodwindly Music would like to thank the late Sir Malcolm Arnold's Estate and its beneficiaries for permission to publish it.

Delivery Options - Important

This publication is available as either an emailed PDF or Printed & Posted. Please note that with the Printed & Posted option, only the parts will be sent. The score will be emailed as a PDF.

Duration. Approx. 10 minutes