Irish Reel
Benjamin Britten (arr. Guy Woolfenden)
General Info
Year: 1936 / 2000
Duration: c. 3:30
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Symphony
Publisher: Faber Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - £39.99 | Score Only (print) - £7.99
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II
Trombone
Tuba
String Bass
Harp (optional)
Percussion, including:
- Glockenspiel
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Britten wrote Irish Reel in 1936 as the title music for a documentary film entitled Around the Village Green. It is a bravura piece, exhibiting all the energy and strong orchestral colours typical of the composer’s output at that time, which makes use of a traditional reel tune with the evocative title The Bottom of the Punch Bowl. Guy Woolfenden’s transcription for symphonic wind band skillfully captures all the fun and sparkle of this ebullient score.
- Program Note from publisher
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Irish Symphonic Wind Orchestra (Limerick) (Timothy Reynish, conductor) - 3 November 2019
- South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble (Fort Lauderdale) (Dan Bassett, conductor) – 10 June 2017
- Birmingham (Eng.) Symphonic Winds (Keith Allen, conductor) – 31 March 2001 *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- The Building of the House (arr. Maciniak) (1977)
- The Courtly Dances (arr. Bach) (1953/1995)
- Four Sea Interludes (arr. Bader) (1945/)
- Four Sea Interludes (tr. Kreines) (1945/2015)
- Four Sea Interludes (tr. Patterson) (1945/)
- Four Sea Interludes from "Peter Grimes" (arr. Miller) (1945/)
- Irish Reel (arr. Woolfenden) (1936/2000)
- Movement for Wind Sextet (1930)
- Passacaglia from the Opera "Peter Grimes" (trans. Kreines) (1945/2016)
- Paul Bunyan Overture (arr. Fussell) (1985)
- Rondo (arr. Cayrol) (1945/2010)
- Russian Funeral (1936)
- Sea Interludes from "Peter Grimes" (arr. Yozviak) (1945/)
- Soirées musicales (as arranger, with Brown) (1830-1835/1946)
- Sword in the Stone, The (1939)
- Theme and Fugue from "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" (arr. Saucedo) (1945/1947/2018)
- Young Person's Guide to the Band (arr. Steinberg) (1945/)
Resources
- Britten, B.; Woolfenden, G. (2000). Irish Reel [score]. Faber Music Ltd.: London.
- Perusal score