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Suite of Old American Dances (ed Higgins)

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Robert Russell Bennett

Robert Russell Bennett (ed. Edward Higgins)


General Info

Year: 1949 / 1952 / 200?
Duration: c. 15:25
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Chappell, distributed by Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $135.00   |   Score Only (print) - $40.00

Movements

1. Cakewalk - 4:05
2. Schottische - 3:07
3. Western One-Step - 3:42
4. Wallflower Waltz - 3:28
5. Rag - 3:41


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II (II doubling English Horn)
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet Solo-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 Solo-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 I-II-III (4 players), including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Bells
  • Blocks (2)
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Sandpaper Blocks
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Suite of Old American Dances was inspired after the composer heard a performance by the Goldman Band in 1948. The original title was Electric Park, an amusement park Bennett went to while growing up in Kansas City. Each movement of the work is based on a dance from the beginning of the 20th Century.

Suite of Old American dances demonstrates that folk music can be both entertaining for listeners and musically substantive for performers. This rhythmically challenging piece is suitable for both high school and university ensembles, and select movements can work well for strong honor bands. Extended syncopated lines, frequently disjunct melodies, and parallel ninth and eleventh chords give this piece a ragtime sensibility that audiences generally enjoy.

- Program Note from Great Music for Wind Band


Suite of Old American Dances was inspired after the composer heard a performance by the Goldman Band in 1948. The original title was Electric Park, an amusement part Bennett went to while growing up in Kansas City. Each movement of the work is based on a dance from the beginning of the 20th Century.

The Cakewalk dance originated on the southern plantations, where slaves often imitated their plantation owners. The dance of “strut” was danced to jig-like banjo/fiddle music, usually done by couple who, with a backward sway, strutted in a medium high step or low kicking fashion. Plantation owners would encourage their workers by presenting prizes for the best couples. The prize was often a cake, usually shared with the other participants. The men would often dress in long coats with high collars and the women in frilly gowns, to mimic their owners.

Although the title of this dance suggests that its roots lie in Scotland, the Schottische is actually a German variant of several Bohemian dances that later developed into the polka. The schottische features quick shifts from foot to foot and striking of the heel. These movements resemble the Scottish reel and may have inspired the name. Because the polka was at one time called the “Scottish Waltz,” it is also possible that this earlier dance inspired its namesake. Either way, the dance came to the United States by way of England when polka dancing became the rage among continental society in the 1840s. The music for the early schottische was usually written in 2/4 time, and many describe the dance as simply a slow polka.

The Western One Step included in the Suite of Old American Dances is a somewhat misleading title. As Frederick Fennell points out, “The composer informed me that this is also a dance known as the Texas Tommy, an obviously bright-eyed tune with an equally bright-eyed tempo.” Little is known about the Texas Tommy, one of the obsolete forms of the one-step. This dance, from the early 20th century, is believed to have originated in brothels and saloons, where ladies of the evening were known as “tommies.” There is a record of the Texas Tommy appearing in the New York Lafayette Theatre production of Darktown Follies in 1913.

Although the beginning of the 20th century represented a new cultural era, replete with new dance steps, the time-honored tradition of the Wallflower Waltz still reigned as king of the ballroom dance scene.

It seems fitting that Bennett chose to end his suite with a Rag. Although there is no one specific dance that can be associated with the rag style, Bennett’s choice of music is representative of the era as a whole. The ragtime era coincided with the beginning of the century, and with a new generation which was harshly criticized by its elders for embracing novel ideas.

- Program Note by Edward Higgins


Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown


State Ratings

  • Alabama: Band Class AA
  • Arkansas: III
  • Florida: FBA Band Grade IV, V
  • Massachusetts: V
  • Minnesota: HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE BAND CATEGORY I
  • North Carolina: VI
  • New York: 20 06 CONCERT BAND LEVEL VI
  • Ohio: OMEA HIGH SCHOOL BAND AA
  • Tennessee: VI
  • Wisconsin: Event 3000 Concert Band Class A Standard Repertoire


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

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