Three Shanties for Winds and Percussion

From Wind Repertory Project
Malcolm Arnold

Malcolm Arnold (arr. Jeff C. Krauklis)


General Info

Year: 1943 / 1989
Duration: 7:40
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Woodwind quintet
Publisher: Unpublished
Availability: Contact Jeff Krauklis


Movements

1. Allegro con brio - 2:32
2. Allegretto semplice - 2:03
3. Allegro vivace - 3:05


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
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
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
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Claves
  • Concert Toms (3)
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Glockenspiel
  • Marimba
  • Slapstick
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tambourine
  • Tam-Tam
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone
  • Wood Block
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Malcolm Arnold’s Three Shanties was originally composed in 1943. A "shanty" is a sailor's work song, and Arnold's popular suite combines spirited rhythmic writing with a melodious and harmonious style that possesses the quality of immediate appeal to the general public while avoiding obvious banality. Harmonically, the music often reveals modalities common to English folk song, and the many dissonances used are not so much modern atonal devices as they are included for their humorous qualities. The three movements are each based on well-known tunes: What Should We Do with a Drunken Sailor?, Boney Was a Warrior and Johnny Come Down to Hilo.

Three Shanties was originally published in 1952 for woodwind quintet. This version for full winds and percussion was completed in March 1989 at the suggestion of John Paynter and premiered the following month at Northwestern University. The work attempts less to be true to the quintet original than it does to English band writing in general and Arnold's style of orchestration in particular, though there are several references to the original instrumentation to be found throughout. The entire work has also been lowered one whole step from the original keys of C, E-flat and C.

- Program Note by Jeff C. Krauklis


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Jeff C. Krauklis, personal correspondence, September 2021