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At Kitty O'Shea's
Subtitle: Irish Folk Song Suite
General Info
Year: 2010
Duration: c. 15:40
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Amstel Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $275.00 | Score Only (print) - $55.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo/Flute III
Penny Whistle
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Accordion/Acoustic Guitar/Tenor Banjo
Harp
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Bodhran
- Crash Cymbals (2)
- Field Drum
- Finger Cymbals
- Marimba
- Snare Drum
- Spoons/Bones
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tam Tam (large)
- Tambourine
- Tenor Drum
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
This suite of Irish folk songs includes the tunes The Darling Girl from Clare; Deirín De; The Star of the County Down; Siúil a Rún (Walk My Love); The Kerry Dances and Finale: Jig & Reels.
- Program Note from publisher
For countless years, the legendary bar Kitty O’Shea’s at the Hilton & Towers Hotel in Chicago has been the favourite meeting place for the revellers of the annual Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic. Since my first visit in 1990, I have not missed a year, and I always look forward to going there again. At Kitty O’Shea’s, new friendships are formed, old ties are strengthened, plans are created (most of which will not be carried out), the laughter is contagious and many toasts are made.
During my first ‘Midwest’, in a whirl after winning the Sudler Award with my Symphony No. 1, "Lord of the Rings", I became friends with Max McKee. He is of Irish descent, and he asked me to write a suite based on the folk music of his ancestors. Many years later, Max and his American Band College created the consortium that commissioned At Kitty O’Shea’s. I have seldom worked on a project with this much pleasure. It was a difficult task to choose from the abundance of traditional Irish folk music. By the time I had 16 minutes of music ready, it was time to finish the work -- but I have plenty of material left for a follow-up!
I would like to share an interesting story about the making of At Kitty O’Shea’s. I had just started my research on original Irish tunes when I noticed someone in our Manhattan apartment building had posted an ad to sell their espresso machine. I went to my neighbour’s spacious penthouse – determined not to pay the asking price. A friendly gentleman let me in, and we soon engaged in lively conversation -- talking about how great it is to live in New York, about our roots, etc. After he had told me he was of Irish descent, I asked him whether he knew of a local institute where I could find more information about Irish folk music. When I explained what I was working on, he said: “What a coincidence, I’m a composer too. I’m Bill Whelan, the composer of Riverdance. Why don’t you sit down, we must have a lot more to talk about.” Of course I knew his name and his wonderful music, but I didn’t know what he looked like. I felt as if I had just asked Roger Federer if he might know someone who has some knowledge of tennis!
I bought the espresso machine without haggling and by now, Bill and I have become good friends. He’s given me some valuable advice regarding At Kitty O’Shea’s, and our first joint venture is a fact: His beautiful Highlights from the Seville Suite will soon be published in my arrangement for wind orchestra. Bill wrote this suite shortly before Riverdance for the World Expo in Sevilla. People say there’s no such thing as coincidence -- I’m starting to believe that more and more!
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- World Youth Wind Orchestra Project (WYWOP) (Schladming, Austria) (Johann Mösenbichler, conductor) – 14 July 2018
- MetWinds (Lexington, Mass.) (Lewis J. Buckley, conductor) - 30 April 2017
- American Band College of Sam Houston State University (Johan de Meij, conductor) – 26 June 2010 *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- African Harmony (2017)
- Aladdin Suite (as arranger)
- Aquarium (1991)
- At Kitty O'Shea's (2011)
- Beatles Collection (as arranger) (1982)
- Canticles (2007)
- Casanova (2000)
- Celtic Classics (2016)
- Ceremonial Fanfare (2005)
- Chanson de Matin (as arranger) (c. 1890/1988)
- Clair de lune (as arranger) (1890/1905/2017)
- Cloud Factory (2011)
- Continental Overture (1997)
- Copacabana (as arranger)
- Downtown Divertimento (2014)
- Dutch Masters Suite (2008)
- Echoes of San Marco (2016)
- Edgar (as arranger) (1889/2008)
- Extreme Make-over (2004)
- Extreme Beethoven (2012)
- Fellini (2015)
- Festive Hymn (2007)
- Fifty Shades of E (2016)
- Highlights from "Riverdance" (as arranger) (1994/2014)
- Highlights from the Seville Suite (as arranger) (1992/2011)
- Honky Tonk Ragtime (as arranger) (1985)
- Jazz Suite No. 2 (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
- March (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
- Lyric Waltz (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
- Dance I (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
- Dance II (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
- Waltz No. 2 (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
- Finale (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
- Joropo (as arranger)
- Jupiter Hymn (as arranger)
- Klezmer Classics (2004)
- La Fanciulla del West (as arranger) (1910/2008)
- La Quintessenza (1990/1998)
- Les Papillons (as editor)
- Loch Ness (1988)
- Lord of the Rings. See: Symphony No. 1
- Lord of the Rings (arr. Lavender) (1987/2001)
- Los Cuatro Vientos (2021)
- Madurodam (1997)
- March to Mars (as arranger) (1987)
- Marche Americana (as editor) (1997)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (as arranger) (1826/2022)
- Moment for Morricone (as arranger) (1966/1996)
- Musical Highlights from "Chess" (as arranger) (1993)
- The Painted Bird (2021)
- Pavane (as arranger) (1899/1991)
- Pennsylvania Faux Songs (2018)
- Phantom of the Opera (as arranger)
- Polish Christmas Music, Part I (1995)
- Ratatouille Satirique (as arranger) (/1994)
- Romeo and Juliet (as arranger). See: Suite from the Ballet "Romeo & Juliet"
- Rotterdam 1945 (2019)
- Sinfonietta No. 1 (2011/2012)
- Songs from the Catskills (2012)
- Spring (2010)
- Star Wars Saga (as arranger) (1987)
- Suite for Variety Orchestra (as arranger) (post 1956/1994)
- Suite from the Ballet "Romeo & Juliet" (as arranger) (1935/1990)
- Summer (2013)
- Symphony No. 1 (1987)
- Symphony No. 2 (1993)
- Symphony No. 3 (2007)
- Symphony No. 4 (2013)
- Symphony No. 5 (2018)
- Ancalagon, the Black (2018)
- UFO Concerto (2012)
- T-Bone Concerto (1996)
- Te Deum (as transcriber) (1900/2010)
- Two-Bone Concerto (2016)
- Teddy Trombone (as arranger)
- Un Momento Dado (2021)
- The Venetian Collection
- Via Claudia (2012)
- Wind in the Willows (2002)
- Windy City Overture (2006)
- The Witches' Sabbath (as arranger)
- The Woman in White (as arranger) (2006)
- The Year 2020 (2022)
Resources
- Johan de Meij website
- Meij, J. (2010). At Kitty O'Shea's: Irish Folk Song Suite : For Wind Orchestra [score]. Amstel Music: Amsterdam.