Raise a Ruckus
Folk song arranged by Anthony Susi
General Info
Year: 2020
Duration: c. 2:00
Difficulty: II (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Susi Music, through Sheetmusicplus
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $45.00
Instrumentation (Flexible)
Full Score
Part 1
C Instruments
- Flute
- Piccolo
- Violin
B-flat Instruments
- B-flat Clarinet
- B-flat Trumpet
E-flat Instruments
- E-flat Alto Saxophone
Part 2
C Instruments
- Flute
- Oboe
- Violin
B-flat Instruments
- B-flat Clarinet
- B-flat Trumpet
E-flat Instruments
- E-flat Alto Saxophone
- Horn in E-flat
Part 3
B-flat Instruments
- B-flat Soprano Clarinet
- B-flat Tenor Saxophone
- B-flat Trumpet
- Euphonium T.C.
E-flat Instruments
- E-flat Alto Saxophone
- Horn in E-flat
F Instruments
- Horn in F
C Instruments
- Viola
Part 4
B-flat Instruments
- B-flat Tenor Saxophone
- Euphonium T.C.
F Instruments
- Horn in F
Bass Clef Instruments
- Bassoon
- Trombone
- Euphonium B.C.
- Cello
Part 5
B-flat Bass T.C.
- B-flat Bass Clarinet
- B-flat Euphonium T.C.
E-flat Instruments
- E-flat Baritone Saxophone
Bass Clef Instruments
- Bassoon
- Trombone
- Euphonium
- Tuba
Piano (optional)
Timpani (optional)
Percussion (optional)
- Bass Drum
- Snare Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Raise a Ruckus Tonight is a 19th-century folk song. A slave is told by his mistress that he would be freed when she died. The promise is long in coming true, and at last the singer takes things in his own hand. Having set off (down?)river, he intends to "raise a ruckus tonight."
My old mistress promised me,
Raise a ruckus tonight,
Sarah, I'm gonna set you free,
Raise a ruckus tonight,
She lived till her head got slick and bald,
Raise a ruckus tonight,
And the Lord wouldn't kill her with a big green maul,
Raise a ruckus tonight.
- Program Note from Fresno State University and Protest Song Lyrics.net
The Library of Congress catalog indicates that the song was "Sung by a group of Negro convicts."
Performance Notes
This popular 19th-century American folk song (traditionally sung) has been arranged instrumentally in the flex style, allowing any combination of wind or string instruments (with optional added percussion) to perform it. The non-pitched percussion part can be divided among a few players or played on the drum set by one. The optional piano part can cover missing voices and help the piece sound fuller if performed by fewer than five wind/string performers. There are opportunities to showcase every performer with written two-bar solos that can alternatively be improvised using just the six notes of a blues scale.
Media
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
- Autumn's Passing (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Come Alive (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2017/2020)
- The Messenger (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1894/2020)
- Midnight Clear (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1850/2020)
- A Million Dreams (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Raise a Ruckus (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2020)
- Russian Sailor's Dance (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1927/2021)
All Wind Works
- Aurora Borealis
- Autumn's Passing (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Come Alive (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2017/2020)
- First Responders (2020)
- A Fond Farewell (2019)
- Golden Heart (2019)
- Harvest Fair (2017)
- Heralding Angels (2020)
- Home Awaits (2022)
- The Last Rose of Summer (as arranger)
- The Messenger (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1894/2020)
- Midnight Clear (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1850/2020)
- A Million Dreams (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Portrait of a Patriot (2018)
- Raise a Ruckus (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2020)
- Russian Sailor's Dance (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1927/2021)
- Summer's Solitude (2020)
- Tornado Alley (2019)
- Winds of Arabia (2020)
Resources
- Anthony Susi, personal correspondence, September 2020
- "Raise a Ruckus." Fresno State University. Web. Accessed 28 September 2020
- "Raise a Ruckus Tonight." Library of Congress. Web. Accessed 28 September 2020.
- "Raise a Ruckus Tonight, song lyrics." Protest Song Lyrics.net". Web. Accessed 28 September 2020