Celts of County Clare, The

Robert Sheldon

'This work bears the designation Opus 225.

General Info

Year: 2021
Duration: c. 5:15
Difficulty: III-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Robert Sheldon Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $75.00; (digital) - $75.00 | Score Only (print) - $5.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
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 Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

Bass Drum
Bells
Chimes
Crash Cymbals
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbal
Tambourine
Triangle

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

This charming composition is inspired by the music of Ireland, specifically the type of folk music heard in the County Clare region, located on the central southwest coast. While much of the music heard in the pubs is typically rhythmic dance music, the area is known for some lovely ballads as well.

When Dennis Naughton commissioned the piece, he asked for it to have an Irish "flavor" as a nod to his family heritage. In researching and visiting the country, I learned that the "Naughton" surname was most often used in County Clare, and therefore I chose to focus on the music of this particular county as the inspiration for the original melodies used in the piece.

Opening with a haunting theme presented over shifting drones, the piece begins with a nod to the bagpipes used in Clare along with the sounds of drums which represents a typical tattoo, which was played by the local corps of drums to signal that the taps at the pubs were to be closed to encourage the soldiers to return to their posts. A lyrical melody then tugs at our heartstrings in the style of an Irish love song. The rhythmic percussion, reminiscent of the sound of an Irish bodhrán, starts the dancing, and takes us on a whirlwind jig that carries us to a glorious conclusion.

- Program Note by composer

Commissioned by Dennis and Christy Naughton in appreciation of their children Marilyn, Alex and Matthew, for their understanding of the crazy life of two parents that are band directors!

- Program Note from score

Media

Audio: Reference recording. MIDI realization

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Reinhardt University (Waleska, Ga.) Wind Ensemble (Kerry Bryant, conductor) - 28 September 2021
Reinhardt University (Waleska, Ga.) Wind Ensemble (Dennis Naughton, conductor) - 22 April 2021 *Premiere Performance*

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Pevensey Castle (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2012)
West Highlands Sojourn (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2014)

All Wind Works

African Adventure (2011)
An American Hymntune (as arranger) (2004)
Appalachian Legacy (1995)
Appalachian Morning (2008)
Armenian Anthem (2003)
Art in the Park (2008)
As Twilight Falls (2011)
As a Wind from the North (2006)
An Australian Sea Ballad (2007)
An Austrian Carol (2012)
Awakened Like the Morn (2005)
Barrier Reef (2002)
A Bayside Portrait (1984)
Bellefonte Overture (2006)
Bermuda Triangle, The (2006)
Beyond the Higher Skies (1999)
Beyond the Riverbend (2013)
Big Brass on Patrol (2004)
Big Sky Round-Up (2011)
Black Is the Color... (2009)
Blaze of Glory (2003)
Blessed Legacy (as arranger) (2019)
The Blue Ridge (as arranger) (2017)
Bounty Hunter from "Advent Rising" (2005/2006)
Bright Auroral Skies
Bright Lights! (2015)
Bristol Bay Legend (1988)
Brule River Celebration (2002)
By the River's Edge (2020)
Canadian Ballad (as arranger) (2010)
Cape Fear Chronicles (1997)
A Carol Francais (as arranger) (2016)
A Carol of Two Mangers (as arranger) (2005)
Cataclysm (2018)
Celebration and Song (2009)
Cellular Symphony (2005)
The Celts of County Clare (2021)
Century Point (1998)
Chanteys (2000)
Charleston Harbor Celebration (2007)
Chiaroscuro (2002)
A Child's Lullaby (2017)
Children of Gaia (2015)
Chimney Rock Celebration (2017)
Choreography (2009)
A Christmas Couplet (as arranger) (2004)
Christmastimes Three (as arranger) (2002)
Cimarron Fanfare (2016)
Coldwater Creek (1996)
Commemoration Overture (2013)
The Common Denominator (2013)
Commonwealth (2021)
Construction Zone (2010)
Continental Divide (2010)
Conundrum (2008)
The Corsair's Landing (1991)
Crazy for Cartoons (2011)
Crest of Nobility (1989)
Crossing the Rubicon (2020)
The Crossings (1999)
Dances of a Shimmering Spirit (2020)
Dances of Serenity (2017)
Danse Celestiale (1989)
Danzas Cubanas (2010)
Daydreams (2013)
Der Lehrmeister (2017)
Divertimento (1976)
Dorian Dreamscape (2004)
Eagle Mountain Overture (1990)
Edifice (2014)
El Rey de Fransia (as arranger) (2003)
El Taco Picante (2017)
Falcon Lake Overture (2004)
Fall River Overture (1981)
Fanfare and Festival (2020)
Fanfare and Intermezzo (1998)
Fantasy on an Early American Marching Tune (2008)
The Final Voyage (2003)
The Fires of Bandai (2014)
Flight of the Piasa (2008)
Flowing Stream (2018)
Four Winds (1993)
From Glen to Glen (2022)
Garden of the Black Rose (2001)
Gently Touch the Sky (2001)
Gently, I Wander (2017)
Ghost Fleet (2001)
Glorious Insurrection (2020)
Golden Panther March (2005/2021)
Halo Theme (as arranger) (2001/2006)
Harbinger (2015)
Hawkeye Overture (2017/2019)
Hill Country Holiday (2001)
Holiday Bobsled Run (2013)
Holiday Sleigh Ride (2003)
Holiday Snippets (as arranger) (2009)
Holidays on Parade (as arranger) (2008)
Hues of Blue (2015)
Iberian Escapades (2009)
Images (1994)
In the Center Ring (2003)
In the Shining of the Stars (1996)
In This Quiet Place (2003)
Incandescent Sky (2019)
Infinite Horizons (2001)
Integrity (2007)
Intrada for Winds (1983)
Intrepid Journey (2015)
An Irish Air (2006)
Irish Ballade, An (2003)
Jolly Rockin' Nicholas (as arranger) (2015)
A Joyful Journey (2002)
Korobochka (2003)
Lake County Landscapes (2015)
A Lantern in the Window (1998)
Legend of Starved Rock (1996)
Let Evening Come (2000)
Lindbergh Variations (1991)
Lion's Gate (2019)
Lone Eagle (2020)
A Longford Legend (1999)
The Lords of Greenwich (2010)
Lost Colony (1994)
Lost in Mammoth Cave (2006)
Lydian Lullaby (2006)
Manatee Lyric Overture (1986)
Maqamat (1974/2005/2021)
March Ceremonial (2005)
March Mixolydian (2005)
March of the Hyperion Guards (2014)
March of the Majestics (2004)
Mark of Triumph (1985)
Melody Park (2014)
The Message on the Rock (2004)
Metrix (2011)
Metroplex (2006)
Mills on the Merrimack (2015)
The Monster Under the Bed (2005)
Moon Rocks (2016)
Moravian Folk Rhapsody (2004/2008)
Morning Mist (2012)
A Most Wonderful Christmas (as arranger) (1934/2006)
The Mystery of Duffy's Cut (2007)
Mystic Journey (2004)
Noel Francais (2003)
Northwest Rising (1999)
Ocean Ridge Rhapsody (1989)
Ode to Joy (as arranger) (2013)
Of Distant Peaks (2012)
Of Kindred Spirit (1997)
On Placid Seas (2015)
Once the Man (2005)
One Thousand Cranes (2010)
Open Road (2013)
Oracles of the Sirocco (2018)
Overdrive (2015)
Overture to a New Horizon (2014)
Palimpsest (2003)
Paragon (2005)
Patriotic Salute (2003)
Patriotic Snippets (2008)
Pevensey Castle (1993)
Pevensey Castle (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2012)
The Phantom of Dark Hollow (2006)
Phrygian Phantasy (2003)
Piedmont Festival Overture (2016)
The Pilgrimage (2011)
The Pioneer's Passage (2000)
The Pioneers (2010)
Pop Culture (as arranger) (2007)
Power the Earth (2019)
Praeludium and Dance (2008)
A Prairie Portrait (2006)
Prairiescape (1996)
Prelude on an Old English Hymn (2000)
Presto! (2014)
Prevail! (2018)
Pride of the Grenadiers (2005)
Pursuit of the Centaur (2016)
Quest of the Knights Templar (2011)
Quixotic Episode (2002)
The Red Covered Bridge (2014)
Red Rock Canyon (1994)
Reflections on a New Tomorrow (2012)
Renaissance Fair (2017)
Requiem to a Land Forgotten (2007)
Resurgences (2013)
Rhapsodic Celebration (2011)
Ritmico! (2001)
River Trail Expedition (2011)
River of Grass (2020)
Riverside Overture (2019)
Rock Island Trail (2002)
Rock That Bach! (as arranger) (2012)
Rock This Band! (2019)
Royal March (2012)
Sag Harbor Sunset (2011)
Sandcastle Sketches (1987)
Savannah River Rhapsody (2012)
A Scandinavian Folk Tale (2003)
A Scottish Ballade (2004)
Serenade (2015)
Shadows of the Equinox (2012)
Shenandoah (as arranger) (2003)
Shenanigans (2009)
Sugar Creek Overture (2007)
The Siege of Harlech Castle 2012)
Silver Spring Soliloquy (1992)
A Simple Celebration (2001)
Sixty-Six (2023)
Skydance (2018)
Snow Globe (2010)
Sonatina (2016)
A Song of Hanukkah (as arranger) (2017)
Sound Innovations Fanfare (2010)
South Shore Soliloquy (2019)
Southampton March (2017)
Southwest Saga (1987)
Spirit Lake Overture (1991)
The Spirit of Killian Hill (2007)
The Spirit of Thanksgiving (as arranger) (2014)
Spontaneous Combustion (2011)
Spoon River (as arranger) (1991)
Star Bright (2018)
Stately Dances (2015)
Storm Warning! (2014)
The Stormchasers (2012)
Storybrook Mountain (1998)
Sugar Creek Overture (2007)
The Swords of Stavanger (2009)
A Symphonic Celebration (2019)
A Symphonic Narrative (1992)
Symphonic Suite from "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (as arranger) (2005)
Synergies (2008)
Tales of Dundee (2005)
Tango Argentina (2016)
There Will Come Soft Rains (2007)
Three Carols for a Celebration (as arranger) (2007)
Three Georgian Vignettes (2008)
Three Miniatures for Winds and Percussion (2005)
Tidings! (as arranger) (Traditional/2022)
Timberline Overture (2003)
Tirade
To Conquer the Skies (2004)
To a Wild Rose (as arranger) (2014)
Travelin' Music (as arranger) (2016)
Triumph of the Argonauts (2014)
A Ukrainian Christmas (as arranger) (2017)
Uptown Strut (2013)
Variants on a Sea Shanty (as arranger) (2014)
Variants on a Union Hymn (2005)
Velocity (2009)
Visions of Flight (1990)
Voices from the Battlefield (1995)
Walking Tune (as arranger) (2020)
Wallaby Walkabout (2003)
Welsh Ayres and Dances (as arranger) (2003)
West Highlands Sojourn (1993)
West Highlands Sojourn (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2014)
Willow Grove (1992)
Winds of Morocco (2001)
Windward Overture (2016)
With Every Sunrise (2016)
A Woodland Celebration (2021)
A Yiddish Lullaby (as arranger) (2012)

Resources

Perusal score
Robert Sheldon website Accessed 3 September 2021