Down by the Salley Gardens (flex)

Michael Sweeney

General Info

Year: 2017
Duration: c. 3:05
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Folk song
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $55.00; (digital) - $55.00 | Score Only (print) - $5.00

Instrumentation (Flexible)

Full Score
Part 1

Flute
Oboe
B-flat Clarinet
B-flat Trumpet
Violin

Part 2

B-flat Clarinet
B-flat Trumpet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
Violin

Part 3

B-flat Clarinet
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone
E-flat Alto Clarinet
F Horn
Violin
Viola

Part 4

B-flat Tenor Saxophone
Euphonium T.C
F Horn
Trombone
Euphonium B.C.
Bassoon
Cello

Part 5

B-flat Bass Clarinet
Trombone
Euphonium B.C.
Bassoon
Euphonium T.C.
Cello
B-flat Baritone Saxophone
Tuba
String/Electric Bass

Timpani
Percussion I

Bass Drum
Snare Drum

Percussion II

Suspended Cymbal
Crash Cymbals
Triangle

Mallet Percussion

Bells
Chimes

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Down by the Salley Gardens is an Irish folk poem by William Butler Yeats, which was published in Crossways in 1889. Herbert Hughes set the words to music.

A "salley," or willow tree, was once common in gardens because people used the willow rods for basket making and for constructing thatch roofing of cottages. The Gaelic for "willow" is saileach, and the English usage of salley for willow tree may come from the Gaelic.

Down by the Salley Gardens
Down by the salley gardens, my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leave grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree.

In a field down by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.

- William Butler Yeats

- Program Note from Teaching Music Through Performance in Band

This careful adaptation of the traditional Irish folk song and its heartfelt melody uses lush harmonies, varieties in texture, and carefully paced emotional peaks to create a marvelous setting for young players. This version also has been creatively scored for flexible instrumentation so small bands or bands with incomplete or nontraditional instrumentation can perform it with great success.

- Program Note from publisher

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Armed Forces on Parade (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2007)
Black Forest Overture (Flex instrumentation) (1996/2008)
Born to be Wild (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1968/1990/2006)
Celtic Air and Dance (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2007/2020)
The Christmas Song (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1945/2011)
Christmas Time Is Here (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1965/2003/2020)
Circle of Life (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1994/2020)
Down by the Salley Gardens (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2006/2017)
The Forge of Vulcan (Flex instrumentation) (1997/2013)
Highlights from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1968/1994/2018)
Imperium (Flex instrumentation) (1992/2020)
Knights of Destiny (Flex instrumentation) (2000/2011)
Pictures at an Exhibition (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1874/2012)
Pirates of the Caribbean (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2003/2006)
Two Movements from "Lincolnshire Posy" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1937/2019)
West Side Story (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1957/2015)
White Christmas (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1940/2006)

All Wind Works

Algona Crossing (2017)
An American Salute (1989)
Ancient Voices (1994)
Armed Forces on Parade (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2007)
Aztalan (2009)
Beyond the Seven Hills (1999)
Black Forest Overture (1996)
Black Forest Overture (Flex instrumentation) (1996/2008)
Blue Mambo (2017)
Born to be Wild (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1968/1990/2006)
Call of the Champions (as arranger)
Cayuga Lake Overture (2006)
Celtic Air and Dance (2007)
Celtic Air and Dance No. 2 (2008)
Celtic Air and Dance No. 3 (2011)
Celtic Air and Dance No. 4 (2018)
Celtic Air and Dance No. 5 (2020)
Celtic Air and March (2014)
Celtic Farewell (2016)
Chester (as arranger) (2020)
The Christmas Song (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1945/2011)
Christmas Time Is Here (as arranger) (1965)
Christmas Time Is Here (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Sweeney) (1965/2003/2020)
Circle of Life (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1994/2020)
Coldwater Crossing (2010)
Corinthium (1994)
Crossings in Time (2006)
Dance of the Spirits (2011)
Dansbury Run (2013)
Dialogues (2003)
Distant Horizons (1995)
Distant Thunder of the Sacred Forest (2003)
Down by the Salley Gardens (as arranger) (2006)
Down by the Salley Gardens (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2006/2017)
Down to the River (as arranger) (2019)
Due North (2014)
Earth and Sky (2013)
Earthdance (2010)
Emerald Awakening (2012)
Equinox (1993)
Fanfare and March (2004)
Fanfare and Presto (1998)
Farandole (as arranger)
Fires of Mazama (2005)
The Forge of the Vulcan (1997)
The Forge of Vulcan (Flex instrumentation) (1997/2013)
Fractures in Time (2017)
Gates of Orion (1997)
Gathering in the Glen (2010)
Great Movie Adventures (as arranger) (2006)
Half Moon on the Hudson (2007)
A Hard Day's Night. See: Selections from "A Hard Day's Night"
High Water Mark: The Third Day (2002)
Highlights from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1968/1994/2018)
Horkstow Grange from "Lincolnshire Posy" (as arranger)
Hudson River Run (2020)
Hymn to the Fallen (as arranger) (1998/2000)
Imperium (1992)
Imperium (Flex instrumentation) (1992/2020)
Irish Rising (as arranger) (2016)
John Williams: Movie Adventures (as arranger) (1977/1999)
Kinesis (2004)
Knights of Destiny (2000)
Knights of Destiny (Flex instrumentation) (2000/2011)
Lament and Tribal Dances (2001)
Last Full Measure (2013)
Legend of Devil's Lake (2011)
Legends in the Mist (1996)
Lincoln Legacy (1999)
Lisbon from "Lincolnshire Posy" (as adapter) (1937/2017)
Lost Lady Found (as arranger) (1937/2011)
Marches of the Armed Forces (as arranger) (1991)
Memory (as arranger)
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (as arranger)
Moai (2017)
Monmouth Overture (1999)
Music from ''Les Misérables" (as arranger) (1980/1998)
Music from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (as arranger) (1977/2016)
Mystic Dance (1999)
Night on Bald Mountain (as arranger) (2004)
Northland Pines (2013)
On Joyful Wing (2018)
On the Edge of Tomorrow (2009)
On the Wings of Swallows (2000)
Out of the Shadows (2003)
Paine Mountain Legacy (2020)
Pantheon (1999)
Panther Rising (2019)
Particles (2014)
Passages (2009)
The Path Not Taken (2019)
Pegasus (2001)
Pictures at an Exhibition (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1874/2012)
Pirates of the Caribbean (as arranger) (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2003/2006)
Pop and Rock Legends: Music of the Beatles (as arranger) (2010)
Prelude and Pursuit (2013)
Quad City Stomp (2008)
River Rendezvous (2016)
River of Hope (2009)
River of the Ancients (2004)
Rock, River, Tree (2015)
Root Beer Rag (as arranger) (1974/1981)
The Royal Tower (2001)
Rumble on the High Plains (2005)
Salute to the Duke (1999)
Sawdust City Celebration (2013)
Selections from "A Hard Day's Night" (as arranger) (1964/1999)
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (as arranger) (1967/2007)
Shenandoah (as arranger) (2003)
Shorewood Overture (2014)
Silverbrook (2006)
A Simple Song (as arranger) (2011)
Sleepsong (as arranger) (2019)
Song for Hope (2011)
Southern Folk Rhapsody (2005)
Southwind (as arranger) (2015)
Spirit of Avalon (1998)
Spring City Overture (2015)
Stardance (2012)
Strike Force (2007)
Suite from "MASS" (as arranger)
Summon the Heroes (as arranger)
Swamp Rabbit Stomp (2016)
Swing the Mood (as arranger) (1990)
Themes from "First Suite in E-flat" (as arranger) (1909/2006)
Themes from "New World Symphony" (as arranger) (1893)
To Soar with Eagles (2013)
Troy! (2009)
Trumpet Tune (as arranger) (2001)
Two Movements from "Lincolnshire Posy" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1937/2019)
Valley of Fire (1998)
Variants on an American Hymn (2000)
Viking (2016)
Villages (2014)
West Side Story (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1957/2015)
When the Sun Breaks Through the Mist (2006)
White Christmas (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1940/2006)
Wildcat Valley Fanfare (2017)
Wilderness Scenes (2004)
The Willow Tree (as arranger) (1995/2018)
Woodland Odyssey (2002)
Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon (as arranger) (1949/2006)
Year of the Dragon (2000)

Resources

Belongia, Daniel A. "Down by the Salley Gardens." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 190-194. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.
Perusal score
Sweeney, M. (2005). Down by the Salley Gardens [score]. Hal Leonard: Milwaukee, Wisc.