Derivations for Solo Clarinet and Band

Morton Gould

General Info

Year: 1955
Duration: c. 17:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Dance band
Publisher: Schirmer
Cost: Rental

Movements

1. Warm-up - 3:00
2. Contrapuntal Blue - 8:00s
3. Rag - 2:30
4. Rideout - 3:30

Instrumentation

Full Score
B-flat Solo Soprano Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
String Bass
Piano
Percussion, including:

Tom-Tom
Vibraphone
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Morton Gould’s Derivations was written in 1955 for Benny Goodman and his famous band. One of several works for clarinet and big band that appeared during the post-war heyday, the piece was also transformed into a ballet, Clarinade, by George Balanchine in 1964, and later by Eliot Field into a different ballet called Jive. The final movement, Ride Out, is a flat-out driving movement that sounds like a wild, up-tempo improvisation for the whole band with the clarinet taking the lead.

- Program note by MSgt Brooke Emery

Derivations for Solo Clarinet and Dance Band was written in 1955 for Benny Goodman. Subsequently it was recorded on a Columbia album, Meeting at the Summit, with Benny Goodman as soloist and Morton Gould conducting. It was staged as a ballet by George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet under the title Clarinade, and by Elliot Feld and the Joffrey Ballet under the title Jive.

The work is a highly stylized and structured piece using the jazz vernacular. It is in four self-explanatory movements: Warm-up, Contrapuntal Blues, Rag and Rideout. It is scored for a dance or stage band, consisting of four saxophones, three trumpets and three trombones, string bass, piano and two percussion. There is also an alternate version with woodwinds substituting for saxophones. The playing time is about 17 minutes.

- Program Note by composer

Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Baylor University (Waco, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (J. Eric Wilson, conductor; Jun Qian, clarinet) – 21 March 2013 (CBDNA 2013 National Conference, Greensboro, N.C.)
United States Air Force Band (Scott Guidry, conductor; Kristin King, clarinet) – 19 December 2012 (2012 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Amber Waves. See: American Ballads
American Ballads (1976)
- Star-Spangled Overture (tr. Ripley) (1976)
- Amber Waves (tr. Ripley) (1976)
- Jubilo (tr. Ripley) (1976)
- Memorials — on “Taps”
- Saratoga Quickstep — on “The Girl I Left Behind”
- Hymnal — on “We Shall Overcome”
American Patrol (Gould)
American Salute (tr. Lang) (1943/1971)
American Salute (arr. Wagner) (1943/2009)
American Symphonette No. 2 (1939)
American Youth March
Ballad for Band (1946)
Café Rio (1957)
Centennial Symphony, Gala for Band (1983)
Cheers! — A Celebration March (1979)
Cinerama Holiday (1955)
- Cinerama March from “Cinerama Holiday” (concert band)
- On the Boulevard from “Cinerama Holiday”
- Skier’s Waltz (arr. Cacavas) (1955/1957)
- Souvenirs of Paris from “Cinerama Holiday”
Concertette for Viola and Band (1943)
Cowboy Rhapsody (arr. Bennett)
Derivations for Solo Clarinet and Band (1955)
The Deserted Ballroom (tr. Bennett) (1938)
Dramatic Fanfares (arr. Brunelli) (1964/1967)
Family Album Suite
- Outing in the Park
- Porch Swing on a Summer Evening
- Nickelodeon
- Old Romance from “Family Album Suite”
- Horseless Carriage Galop (trans. Gould) (1951)
Fanfare for Freedom (1943)
The First Noel (as arranger) (1949)
Folk Suite (arr. Lang) (1959)
- Overture from "Folk Suite" (arr. Lang.) (1955/1959)
Four Latin American Symphonette (arr. Koekelkoren) (1942/1998)
Fourth of July (1947)
Fourth of July (arr. Rogers) (1947/2023)
Global Greetings(1994)
Holiday Music (1947)
- First Thanksgiving from “Holiday Music”
- Halloween from “Holiday Music”
- Home for Christmas from “Holiday Music”
Holocaust Suite (arr. Gould) (1978/1980)
- Babi Yar, from Suite from 'Holocaust'
- Berta and Joseph, from Suite from 'Holocaust'
- Elegy (Epilogue), from Suite from 'Holocaust'
- Kristallnacht - The Night of the Broken Glass, from Suite from 'Holocaust'
- Liberation, from Suite from 'Holocaust'
- Main Theme for Band, from Suite from 'Holocaust'
Jericho Rhapsody (1941)
Jingle Bells (as arranger) (1857/1952)
Jubilo. See: America Ballads, Jubilo - on "Year of Jubilo"
Latin American Symphonette (arr. Koekelkoren) (1942/1998)
March of the Leathernecks (arr. Lang) (1943/1944)
Memorials. See: American Ballads, Memorials — on “Taps”
Mini-Suite for Band (1968)
Old Romance
Overture from “Folk Suite”
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (as arranger; trans. Patterson)
Pavanne (1938)
Prisms (1962)
Prologue, from CBS-TV series “World War I”
Red Cavalry March (tr. Lang) (1943)
Remembrance Day (Soliloquy for a Passing Century) (1995)
Revolutionary Prelude, from CBS-TV documentary “World War I”
Saint Lawrence Suite (1958)
Santa Fe Saga (1956)
Saratoga Quickstep. See: American Ballads, Saratoga Quickstep — on “The Girl I Left Behind”
Sarajevo Suite (1964)
- Royal Hunt from “Sarajevo Suite”
- Royal March from “Sarajevo Suite”
Serenade of Carols (tr. Gould) (1949)
Serenade of Carols (tr. Patterson) (1949/2009)
Skier's Waltz. See: Cinerama Holiday Skier’s Waltz
Soft Shoe Serenade from “Hoofer Suite” (1956)
Star-Spangled Overture. See: American Ballads, Star-Spangled Overture - on "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Symphonette No. 2 (1938)
- Movement I from “Symphonette No. 2”
- Pavanne from “Symphonette No. 2” (arr. Yoder) (1939)
Symphony No. 4 (1952)
Taps. See: American Ballads, Memorials — on “Taps”
We Shall Overcome. See: American Ballads, Hymnal
West Point Symphony. See: Symphony No. 4
Windjammer (Highlights) (1958)
Yankee Doodle (tr. Lang) (1945)

Resources

Gould M. (1974). Derivations: For Clarinet and Band [score]. G. Schirmer: [New York, N.Y.].