Highlights from "Riverdance"
Bill Whelan (arr. Johan de Meij)
General Info
Year: 1994 / 2014
Duration: c. 13:00
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Amstel Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $264.00 | Score Only (print) - $55.00
Movements (played without pause)
1. Cloudsong
2. Firedance
3. Lift the Wings
4. Dance of the River Woman
5. Finale: Riverdance
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone I-II
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano
Harp (optional doubling Synthesizer)
Accordion
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bodhran
- Bongos
- Castanet
- Claves
- Cowbell
- Floor Tom-tom (2)
- Glockenspiel
- Marimba
- Shaker
- Suspended Cymbal
- Taiko Drums
- Tambourine
- Vibraphone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
The premiere of Riverdance took place on April 30, 1994, during a seven-minute pause in the Eurovision Song Contest at the Point Theatre, Dublin. Thanks to 10,000 performances on four continents, TV audiences in the millions and sales of CDs and videos by the bucket-load, Riverdance has since become one of the most successful shows on Earth. This new Riverdance arrangement for concert band is, after The Seville Suite, the second collaboration between Bill Whelan and Johan de Meij.
The medley includes Cloudsong, Firedance, Lift the Wings, Dance of the River Woman, and Riverdance.
- Program Note from publisher
This arrangement was written for the 25th Anniversary of The American Band College, June 25th, 2013 Medford, Oregon.
- Program Note from score
Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval performance act during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean Butler, Michael Flatley and the vocal ensemble Anúna. Shortly afterwards, husband and wife production team John McColgan and Moya Doherty expanded it into a stage show, which opened in Dublin on 9 February 1995. Since then, the show has visited over 450 venues worldwide and been seen by over 25 million people, making it one of the most successful dance productions in the world.
- Program Note from Wikipedia
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- OBA North Shore Wind Symphony (Sydney, Aus.) - 30 April 2021
- Concordia University (River Forest, Ill.) University Band (Richard R. Fischer, conductor) – 8 November 2019
- Northern Ireland (Belfast) Concert Band (Martin Wall, conductor) – 21 February 2019
- Die Stadtkapelle Binsdorf (Germany) (Thomas Michaelfeit, conductor) – 2016
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Firedance (arr. Strommen) (1994/)
- Heart's Cry, The (arr. O'Loughlin) (1994/)
- Highlights from the "Seville Suite" (arr. de Meij) (1992/2011)
- Highlights from "Riverdance" (arr. de Meij) (1994/2014)
- Riverdance (arr. Strommen) (1994)
Resources
- Bill Whelan website Accessed 14 January 2020
- Perusal score
- Riverdance, Wikipedia Accessed 14 January 2020
- Whelan, B.; Meij, J. (2004). Highlights from Riverdance [score]. Amstel Music: Amsterdam, Netherlands.