Five Folk Songs For Soprano and Band

Bernard Gilmore

General Info

Year: 1965 / 2002
Duration: c. 19:00
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Maecenas Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $184.00 | Score Only - $41.95

Movements

1. Mrs. McGrath - 3:43
2. All the Pretty Little Horses - 6:30
3. Yerakina - 2:40
4. El Burro - 4:15
5. A Fiddler - 2:05

Instrumentation

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

Bass Drum
Bells
Castanets
Chimes
Cowbell
Crash Cymbals
Ratchet
Sleigh Bells
Snare Drum
Tam-Tam
Tambourine
Tenor Drum
Tom-Tom
Triangle
Wood Block
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Bernard Gilmore’s signature piece, Five Folk Songs for Soprano and Band, is a folk song arrangement composed in 1963 for the annual conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) and published by Maecenas Music. It has enjoyed countless performances nationwide and internationally. This composition is the first major work written expressly for soprano and band and was awarded "Best Original Composition" at the CBDNA Biennial Conference in 1967.

Five Folk Songs for Soprano and Band contains five movements, each of which is in a different language. The complexity of the soprano having to learn a variety of languages can make the work difficult to learn. Nevertheless, the piece has been widely adopted as standard music repertoire in the university setting.

- Program Note from Wikipedia

Awards

Five Folksongs for Soprano and Band has been recommended as interesting, serious and distinctive music by members of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: Cincinnati Wind Symphony (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor; Barbara Paré, soprano) - 1995
Audio CD: United States Military Academy Band (David Deitrick, conductor; Mary Kay Messenger, soprano) – 2000

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

DePaul University (Chicago, Ill.) Wind Symphony (Matthew Schlomer, conductor; Georgiana Adams, soprano) – 21 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 North Central Division Conference, Chicago, Ill.)
Arkansas Tech University (Russellville) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Daniel A. Belongia, conductor; Holly Ruth Gale, soprano) – 28 April 2019
United States Coast Guard Band (New London, Conn.) (Richard Wyman, conductor) – 18 March 2018
McGill University Wind Symphony (Alain Cazes, conductor) – 17 March 2017
University of Missouri, Kansas City, Conservatory Wind Symphony (Steven D. Davis; Aidan Soder, mezzo soprano) – 2 November 2015
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wind Ensemble (John A. Climer, conductor; Tanya Kruse Ruck, soprano) – 15 July 2015 - WASBE Conference, San Jose, Calif.
Los Angeles Symphonic Winds (Stephen Piazza, conductor; Christina Kushnik Roszhart, soprano) - 26 October 2014
Community Band of Brevard (Merritt Island, Fla.) (Marion A. Scott, conductor)] - 17 March 2013
Keene (N.H.) State College Concert Band (James Chesebrough, conductor; Heather O’Connor, soprano) - 8 March 2012
United States Military Academy Band (West Point, N.Y.) (David Deitrick, conductor; Mary Kay Messenger, soprano) – 23 December 2000 (2000 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Distant Sundays (1999)
Fantasy Variations on St. Anthony Chorale (1992)
Five Folk Songs For Soprano and Band (1965)
Isle's Triptych (1998)

Resources

Bernard Gilmore, Wikipedia
Gilmore, B. (19--) Five Folksongs: For Soprano and Band [score].
Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Bernard Gilmore." Accessed 27 October 2014
Perusal score