Greensleeves (arr Smith)

From Wind Repertory Project
Robert W. Smith

Traditional, arranged by Robert W Smith


Subtitle: A Fantasia for Band

This work is Movement Two of Smith's Vaughan Williams Suite.


General Info

Year: 2007
Duration: c. 4:00
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alfred Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $70.00; (digital) - $72.00   |   Score Only (print) - $9.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra Alto 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
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

  • Bells
  • Chimes
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Finger Cymbals
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tambourine
  • Triangle
  • Wind Chimes


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

The second movement of this tribute to Ralph Vaughn Williams is a compelling setting of this English folk song. Beginning with a lyric solo statement by the flute, the melody is further enhanced using the unique timbres available with concert band instrumentation.

- Program Note from publisher


Greensleeves is a traditional English folk song and tune, over a ground either of the form called a romanesca; of its slight variant, the passamezzo antico; of the passamezzo antico in its verses and the romanesca in its reprise; or of the Andalusian progression in its verses and the romanesca or passamezzo antico in its reprise. The romanesca originated in Spain and is composed of a sequence of four chords with a simple, repeating bass, which provide the groundwork for variations and improvisation.

A broadside ballad by this name was registered at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580, by Richard Jones, as A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves. Six more ballads followed in less than a year. It then appears in the surviving A Handful of Pleasant Delights (1584) as A New Courtly Sonnet of the Lady Green Sleeves. To the new tune of Green Sleeves.

There is a persistent belief that Greensleeves was composed by Henry VIII for his lover and future queen consort Anne Boleyn. Boleyn allegedly rejected King Henry's attempts to seduce her, and this rejection may be referred to in the song when the writer's love "cast me off discourteously". However, the piece is based on an Italian style of composition that did not reach England until after Henry's death, making it more likely Elizabethan in origin.

- Program Note from Wikipedia


It is generally agreed that the melody we know as Greensleeves is probably the second oldest piece of secular music in our Western culture, its origins having been traced back to about 1360. While we are not certain this was the original title, it is known that in the latter 14th century, English ladies wore gowns with great billowing sleeves, and the lyrics that have come down to us speak of a lover's lament over his lady's cruel treatment of him by a lady clad in a dress of green sleeves.

By the time of William Shakespeare, this song had already become a classic and he made use of it in two of his plays, most notably in the Merry Wives of Windsor. Over 300 years later, the English composer Ralph Vaughan William used this melody as an intermezzo between two acts of his opera Sir John in Love, which was based on the same play. Since then the tune has been adapted as the basis for at least one Christmas carol (What Child is This?), several popular songs, and even by the Swingle Singers on one of their albums. In addition, it has been performed instrumentally by groups of all sizes and styles from full symphony orchestra to small jazz and rock groups.

- Program Note from score of Alfred Reed's Greensleeves (Barnhouse, 2011)


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Greensleeves, Wikipedia Accessed 25 December 2015
  • Smith, R.; Williams, R. (2007). Greensleeves: A Fantasia for Band [score]. Belwin-Mills: [s.l.]