Flower Drum Song

Richard Rodgers

Richard Rodgers (arr. Philip J Lang)

Subtitle: Selection for Concert Band

General Info

Year: 1958 / 1959
Duration: c. 8:30
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Williamson Music
Cost: Score and Parts – Out of print.

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.

Instrumentation

Full Score
D-flat Piccolo
C 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
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion (4 players), including:

• Bass Drum
• Crash Cymbals
• Orchestra Bells
• Snare Drum
• Suspended Cymbal
• Temple Blocks (2)
• Wood Block
• Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

This medley of tunes from the 1958 Broadway play Flower Drum Song includes A Hundred Million Miracles, You Are Beautiful, Grant Avenue, Chop Suey, I Am Going to Like It Here, Like a God, Sunday, Don't Marry Me and I Enjoy Being a Girl.

Flower Drum Song was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the West End and on tour. It was adapted for a 1961 musical film.

Lee's novel focuses on a father, Wang Chi-yang, a wealthy refugee from China, who clings to traditional values in San Francisco's Chinatown. Rodgers and Hammerstein shifted the focus of the musical to his son, Wang Ta, who is torn between his Chinese roots and assimilation into American culture. The musical, much lighter-hearted than Lee's novel, was profitable on Broadway and was followed by a national tour.

After the release of the 1961 film version, the musical was rarely produced, as it presented casting issues and fears that Asian-Americans would take offense at how they are portrayed. When it was put on the stage, lines and songs that might be offensive were often cut. The piece did not return to Broadway until 2002, when a version with a plot by playwright David Henry Hwang was presented. Hwang's story retains the Chinatown setting and the inter-generational and immigrant themes, and emphasizes the romantic relationships.

- 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

• Kaimuki Middle School (Honolulu, Hi.) Symphonic Winds (Kazu Sunabe, conductor) – 4 December 2010

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

• My Favorite Things (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Buckley) (1959/2014)

All Wind Works

• Bali Hai (arr. Yoder) (1949/1953)
• Blue Moon (arr. Barker) (1937/1962)
• Carousel: Highlights (arr. Yoder) (1945/1964)
• Carousel: Selections (arr. Leidzen) (1945/1948)
• Carousel Waltz (arr. Bennett) (1945/1957)
• Cinderella Waltz (arr. Bennett) (1958)
• Circus on Parade, The (arr. Warrington) (1935)
• Flower Drum Song (arr. Lang) (1958/1959)
• Golden Age of Broadway, The (arr. Moss) (2009)
• Guadalcanal March (arr. Bennett) (1952/1978)
• Guadalcanal March (arr. Curnow) (1952/1989)
• Guadalcanal March (arr. Leidzen) (1952)
• If I Loved You from "Carousel"(arr. Werle) (1945/)
• It's a Grand Night for Singing (arr. Brown) (1945)
• Highlights from "Oklahoma!" (arr. Moss) (1943/1994)
• Highlights from "Oklahoma!" (arr. Yoder) (1943/1954)
• Highlights from "South Pacific" (arr. Lang) (1949/1958)
• Highlights from "The King and I" (arr. Herfurth) (1951/1957)
• Highlights from "The Sound of Music" (arr. Cable) (1959)
• King and I, The, Selections (tr. Bennett) (1951)
• Lady is a Tramp (arr. Hastreiter)
• Manhattan (arr. Morrissey) (1925/1953/1959)
• March of the Siamese Children (arr. Bennett) (1951)
• My Favorite Things (arr. Jennings) (1959/1992)
• My Favorite Things (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Buckley) (1959/2014)
• Oklahoma! (arr. Bennett, adapt. Rodgers) (1943/1997)
• Oklahoma!: Selections (arr. Leidzen) (1943)
• Richard Rodgers in Concert (arr. Huff)
• Richard Rodgers in Concert (arr Lowden)
• Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Oklahoma" (arr. Edmondson) (1943/1982)
• Salute to Richard Rodgers (arr. Ricketts)
• Selections from "Carousel" (arr. Bennett) (1945)
• Selections from "Carousel" (arr. Custer) (1945/1995)
• Selections from "The Sound of Music" (arr. Christensen) (1959/1989)
• Slaughter on 10th Avenue (arr. Lang) (1936/1954)
• Slaughter on 10th Avenue (arr. Moss)
• The Sound of Music -- Selections (arr. Bennett) (1959/1960)
• The Sound of Music Medley (arr. Iwai)
• South Pacific -- Highlights
• South Pacific: Selection (tr. Leidzen) (1949)
• South Pacific Symphonic Scenario (arr. Bennett; adapt. Rogers) (1949/1999)
• Symphonic Highlights from "The King and I" (arr. Bulla) (1951/2016)
• Themes from "Victory at Sea" (arr. Maltby) (1953/1975)
• Tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein (arr. Custer)
• Victory at Sea Symphonic Scenario (tr. Bennett) (1954/1955)
• Victory at Sea (arr Moss)
• You'll Never Walk Alone (arr. Rhea) (1945/2018)
• You'll Never Walk Alone (arr. Walden and VanDoren) (1945/2017)

Resources

• Flower Drum Song, Wikipedia Accessed 15 August 2020
• Girsberger, Russ. Percussion Assignments for Band & Wind Ensemble: Volume 2 L-Z. Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications, 2004, 253. Print.
• Rodgers, R.; Hammerstein, O.; Fields, J.; Lang, J. (1959). Flower Drum Song, Selection for Concert Band [score]. Williamson Music: New York.