Summertime

From Wind Repertory Project
George Gershwin

George Gershwin (arr. Philip J. Lang)


General Info

Year: 1934 / 1959
Duration:
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts – Out of print.

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.


Instrumentation

Condensed Score
C Piccolo
D-flat Piccolo
Flute
Oboe
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 Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
E-flat Horn or Alto I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Percussion, including:

  • Bells


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Summertime is an aria composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based.

The song soon became a popular and much recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt ... one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote ... Gershwin's highly evocative writing brilliantly mixes elements of jazz and the song styles of blacks in the southeast United States from the early twentieth century". Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim has characterized Heyward's lyrics for Summertime and My Man's Gone Now as "the best lyrics in the musical theater". The song is recognized as one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music, with more than 33,000 covers by groups and solo performers.

- Program Note from Wikipedia


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

  • Atascadero (Calif.) Community Band (Fletcher Ferrara, conductor) – 18 June 2019
  • Atascadero (Calif.) Community Band (Keith Waibel, conductor) – 15 August 2017
  • Atascadero (Calif.) Community Band (Larry Frost, conductor) – 26 July 2016


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources