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Ronde for Isolde
General Info
Year: 1985 / 1988
Duration: c. 10:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Novello & Company
Cost: Score and Parts - $190 | Full Score - $35.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon
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-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Glockenspiel
- High Hat Cymbal
- Snare Drum
- Tambourine
- Tenor Drum
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Ronde for Isolde was commissioned by the Scottish Amateur Music Association for the National Wind Band of Scotland. It was premiered on July 6, 1985 by the National Wind Band of Scotland, Lt. Col. Rodney Bashford conducting. Bedford (1988) wrote in the score “ The work consists of variations on the tune ‘Ronde’ by the 16th century composer Tielman Susato. During the central slow variation this is combined with a version of a sequence of chords which appears once, briefly, during the second act of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, hence the works title.” The first eighty-two measures contain the theme scored for different instrumental groups with the section concluding with the full ensemble. The first variation slows from quarter note equaling 100 bpm to quarter note equaling 76 bpm. The melody is harmonized with some bi-tonal dissonances and is broken into small segments among the ensemble. At measure 110 the temp quickens to the original and the meter alternates between 5/8 and 2/4. This brief section slows down to the tempo of the first variation leading to a variation which includes repeated pairs of eighth notes and the ‘Tristan’ chord, sounds which are quite similar to this composer’s Sun Paints Rainbows on the Vast Waves (1982). In measure 218 the tempo is the same as the original, with the melody in a syncopated rhythm. This section gradually crescendos to the coda, a return of the last section of the original theme.
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Winnipeg (Man., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Virginia Helmer, conductor) - 12 February 2023
- University of Toronto (Ont., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Gillian MacKay, conductor) – 14 October 2017
- Marquette University Symphonic Band (Jason S. Ladd, conductor) 12 April 2015
- University of Mississippi (Oxford) Symphonic Band (Evan Feldman, conductor) – 26 February 2010 (CBDNA 2010 Southern Division Conference, Oxford, Miss.)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Canons and Cadenzas
- Praeludium (Bedford) (1990)
- Ronde for Isolde (1985)
- Sea and Sky and Golden Hill (1985)
- Sun Paints Rainbows on the Vast Waves (1984)
- Symphony No. 2 (1985)
Resources
- Bedford, D. (1988). Ronde for Isolde [score]. London: Novello & Company Limited.