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Best of Rooms, The
Randall Thompson (arr. Lambrecht)
General Info
Year: 1963 / 2016
Duration: c. 3:55
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: ECS Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $65.00 | Score Only (print) - $12.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Chimes
- Crash Cymbals
- Suspended Cymbal
Players singing
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
This arrangement of Randall Thompson's unaccompanied choral piece The Best of Rooms was transcribed by Barbara Lambrecht. As a student, Barbara fell in love with Thompson's music after hearing the Texas All-State Choir sing his Testament of Freedom. Years later, as a school band director, she joined her church choir and "discovered" The Best of Rooms. Charmed not only by the music but also the text, she arranged this gem for wind band so that a new generation of musicians, in this case instrumentalists, could experience the genius of Randall Thompson. The music is lush, warm, lyrical, and mystical.
- Program Note from publisher
Born into a family of goldsmiths, Cavalier poet Robert Herrick (1591-1674) is best known for his diverse and jewel-like works, including odes, lyrics about the many aspects of love, nature poetry, and epigrams, as well as religious texts. His poetry is one of the most often set by composers.
The Best of Rooms
Christ, He requires still, wheresoe’er He comes,
To feed, or lodge, to have the best of rooms;
Give Him the choice; grant Him the nobler part
Of all the house: the best of all’s the heart
- Robert Herrick (1647)
Eminent American composer Randall Thompson’s SATB setting for unaccompanied chorus of The Best of Rooms by Robert Herrick follows the poetic text carefully with expressive phrasing, using dynamics and smooth passages to lead to the musical and poetic climax of the poem “grant him the nobler part of all the house: the best of all’s the heart.”
- Program Note from Hebron High School Wind Symphony concert program, 15 December 2016
For my friend Diane.
- Program Note from score
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Florida (Gainesville) Monday Night Band - 18 April 2018
- University of Texas at El Paso Wind Symphony (Bradley Genervo, conductor) - 15 February 2018 (2018 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
- Hebron High School (Carrollton, Texas) Wind Symphony (Andy Sealy, conductor) - 15 December 2016 (2016 Midwest Clinic)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Alleluia (Thompson) (tr. Buckley) (1993)
- Best of Rooms, The (arr. Lambrecht) (1963/2016)
- Best of Rooms, The (arr. Grant) (1963/2017)
- Frostiana (arr. Hudson) (1984)
- Testament of Freedom (arr. Corley) (1942)
Resources
- Thompson, R.; Lambrecht, B. (2016). The Best of Rooms: For Band [score]. E.C. Schirmer Music: Boston.