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Title	English Folk Song Suite
Article no.	9214370
Category	Concert/wind/brass band
Subcategory	Suite
Instrumentation	Ha (concert/wind band)
Format	PrtStm (full score and parts)
Country of publication	United Kingdom (uk)
Publisher *	Boosey & Hawkes Hal Leonard
Publisher's article no. *	BHI 6100328
Delivery publisher *	Schott Music Distribution
Series title	British Band Classics
EAN (GTIN) *	9790051615117
ISMN *	979-0-051-61511-7
ISMN-10 *	M-051-61511-7
Composer	Vaughan Williams, Ralph
Difficulty level	5
Evaluation level of countries	A3 (Austrian C level); C3 (Swiss 2nd class); D4 (German upper level)
Duration	10:50
Additional info/contents	The English Folk Song Suite with its traditional musical means reflects the composer's lifelong studies in the field of English folk music. The work was commissioned by the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall. After the premiere on July 4, 1923, the Musical Times read: "This good composer has so hopelessly beaten the ordinary scribblers of entertaining pieces". Prt Picflt Flt Ob 1,2 Fag 1,2 EsClr Clrt Solo + 1,2,3 AClr BClr CBClr (BsSax doub) ASax 1,2 TSax BSax (CBClr doub) Trp 1,2 Cnt Solo + 1,2 Hrn in Eb 1,2,3,4 Trb 1,2,(3/BsTrb) Euph (BC+TC) Tub Perc: 1,2,(3) -BD -MCym -SD -Tmp -Trng

No.	Track title	Sound sample
1	March 'Seventeen Come Sunday'
2	Intermezzo 'My Bonnie Boy'
3	March 'Folk Songs from Somerset'

Sample sheet music	click here
Sample score *	click here
Sound sample *
Video sample *
Available	yes

Programme notes *: The "English Folk Song Suite" is a three-movement work for military band, arranged by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1923. The piece is based on several traditional English folk songs, which Vaughan Williams collected and arranged for the band. The first movement, "March: Seventeen Come Sunday," is a lively and rhythmic march based on the folk song of the same name. The second movement, "Intermezzo: My Bonny Boy," is a slower, more reflective piece, based on a folk song about a girl waiting for her lover to return from sea. The final movement, "March: Folk Songs from Somerset," is a fast and energetic march based on three traditional songs from the county of Somerset. The "English Folk Song Suite" is a quintessentially English work, showcasing Vaughan Williams' love for English folk music and his skill at arranging it for band. The piece has become a staple of the band repertoire and is often performed by military and concert bands around the world. Quelle/Source: musicainfo.net Vaughan Williams wrote this suite in 1923. He told friends that he had thoroughly enjoyed writing it, especially since he had to deal with the challenges of composing for a new medium. His pleasure shows through in this largely joyful work, and in the attention he lavished on every detail of its construction. Each movement incorporates a medley of folk tunes, although occasionally are heard in counterpoint as well. The first movement, March - Seventeen Come Sunday, is similar in structure to a British military march (two strains, trio, da capo), but Vaughan Williams adapted it by repeating the second strain after the trio, creating a small-scale arch form. The first strain employs the folk song Seventeen come Sunday. The original melody has a meter change, which Vaughan Williams did not incorporate into his setting. However, he marked stresses on particualr notes and altered phrase lenghts to convay the sense of flexible meter associated with English folk song. Dynamics are used to define phrase lenghts. Interestingly, the second statement of the tune, scored for full band, does not include these dynamic indications. The second strain, based on Pretty Caroline, is lyrical and transparented scored, rather unusual features in a march. Beginning at bar 48, tenor sax doubles the bass line, but in a contrasted articulation, a surprising and effective scoring idea. The trio in the most contrapuntal section of the entire suite. There are three simultaneous lines: the folk song Dives and Lazarus in the low voices, a jig-like tune in the high voices, and a simple, primarly harmonic line in horns. All are marked ff, but when played that way the horn line disappears and the two prominent melodies compete in an unsatisfactory way. Since this section is repeated, a conductor can enphasize the low voices the first time and the jig-tune the second, allowing the horn line can be heard against both melodies, and generating a more interesting listening experience for both performers and audience. A reprise of Pretty Caroline leads to the da capo and an abrupt plagal cadence. The second movement, Intermezzo - My Bonny Boy, functions as both slow movement and scherzo. In ternary form (A-B-A), the slow music comprises two different settings of the love song My Bonny Boy, while the scherzo function is provided by Green Bushes - the "B" section of the movement. The two "A" sections consists of some of the most haunting and effectively-scored music in the entire band repertoire. The initial section leaves the tune in solo voices supported by a gradually accumulating accompaniment. Full band appears only at the climax of the melody, at bar 16-17. At the second statement, the composer added a high register countermelody that suggests hemiola. There is also a notable low-voice/high-voice canon at bar 28-30 that is often overlooked. The "B" section consists of two statements of Green Bushes. Like the beginning of the movement, the first statement features solo voices over a simple, in this case drone, accompaniment, and a countermelody in high woodwinds supports the second. Triangle and cymbals add to lovely touch to both statements. The transition back to "A" could only have been accomplished by a master composer. The closing motive of Green Bushes is set in hemiola and in effect accomplishes a metric modulation. Scoring in the second "A" section is another marvel. The phrase of My Bonny Boy alternate between the low voices in unison and the clarinet/cornet/trumpet choir in harmony, thereby simultaneously accomplishing contrasted color and enormous poignancy. The finale, March - Folk Songs from Somerset, is another medley of folk tunes and another unusually strucured march. The form is A-B-A, but each section incorporates two folk songs that are seamlessly linked, giving the impression that they are part of the same tune. The initial "A" is in itself a small ternary form. Two full statements of Blow Away the Morning Dew are separated by a single statement of High Germany. The two folk songs of the "B" section consists of a single presentation of each of The Tree So High in 6/8 time and John Barleycorn in 2/4. The Tree So High is supported by lyrical countermelodies in horns, trumpets and cornets that need to be drawn out of the texture. John Barleycorn is scored into the low voices with an upper register "military march" rhythmic accompaniment. However, Vaughan Williamshands, this march figure becomes almost another folk melody. A reprise of "A" completes the movement and the suite. Quelle/Source: Boosey & Hawkes Information: Wind Repertory Project Tags: Countries and cities Dances and songs

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	English Folk Song Suite (concert/wind band), full score and parts
	English Folk Song Suite (concert/wind band), full score
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