Fantasy on “Barbara Allen”

From Wind Repertory Project
Fred J. Allen

Folk song setting by Fred J Allen


General Info

Year: 1993
Duration: c. 6:10
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Folk song
Publisher: TRN Music Publisher
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $65.00   |   Score Only (print) - $8.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Bell Tree
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum
  • Tambourine
  • Tom-toms (2)
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

There are more than 100 variants of the folk song known as Barbara Allen ("Barb'ry Ellen"). Most of them fall into two main groups, one diatonic and the other modal. This piece is based on two versions representing the two groups.

- Program Note from publisher


For my sister, Barbara.

- Program Note from score


Barbara Allen (Child 84, Roud 54) is a traditional folk song that is popular throughout the English speaking world and beyond. It tells of how the eponymous character denies a dying man's love, then dies of grief soon after his untimely death.

The song began as a ballad in the seventeenth century or earlier, before quickly spreading (both orally and in print) throughout the British Isles and later North America. Ethnomusicologists Steve Roud and Julia Bishop described it as "far and away the most widely collected song in the English language -- equally popular in England, Scotland and Ireland, and with hundreds of versions collected over the years in North America."

The ballad generally follows a standard plot, although narrative details vary between versions. A servant asks Barbara to attend on his sick master. She visits the bedside of the heartbroken young man, who then pleads for her love. She refuses, claiming he had slighted her while drinking with friends. He dies soon after and Barbara hears his funeral bells tolling; stricken with grief, she dies as well. They are buried in the same church; a rose grows from his grave, a briar from hers, and the plants form a true lovers' knot.

- Program Note from Wikipedia


Media


State Ratings

  • Indiana: ISSMA SENIOR BAND GROUP II
  • Louisiana: III
  • Oklahoma: IV-A
  • Virginia: V


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


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Resources