This beautiful song is one of the most popular American folk songs, evoking images of the river life of yesteryear. It is sure to be a popular addition to your saxophone recital, or it would make an excellent encore piece. The top note is D (written) above the treble staff and the duration is 03:55.

As with most folk songs, there are many different versions of Shenandoah, and it?s impossible to determine the song?s exact provenance with any degree of certainty. It probably has its origins among the French Canadians who traded with Native Americans around the Great Lakes during the sixteenth century. In most versions of the song, the lyrics tell of a seafarer, possibly a canoeing fur-trader, who was in love with the daughter of Shenandoah, a Native American Chief who lived in what is now the state of Virginia. Shenandoah was a real person: an individual of commanding presence who lived for over a hundred years.

Sailors heading down the Mississippi picked up the song and made it a capstan shanty, which they sang while hauling in the anchor. By the mid-1800s versions of the song were heard almost everywhere the clipper ships ventured. Shenandoah was one of the most popular capstan shanties, a slow song which set a manageable pace for the crew in a heavy and lengthy task. Add this lovely American song to your repertoire today!

This ever-popular piece is often performed at weddings, funerals and many other solemn

ceremonial events. It has always been a favorite among instrumental players and often used in

recitals or concert encores. This arrangement by Colin Kirkpatrick has been transposed into B

flat to feature the middle to upper range of the saxophone. In is ideal for the intermediate

player who can manage a top ?b? with confidence.
In 1853, the well-known French composer Charles Gounod added his own melody over a rippling

keyboard accompaniment which was a slightly adapted version of the Prelude No. 1 in C major,

BWV846, from Book I of J. S. Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, published in 1722. The title of

the ?combined? piece was M�ditation sur le Premier Pr�lude de Piano de S. Bach. Gounod?s

original arrangement transposed Bach?s keyboard part from C major into F major and it was

scored for violin (or cello), organ and piano. In 1859, the French music publishing company

Jacques-L�opold Heugel brought out a vocal version based on the familiar Latin text. Ave Maria

(Hail Mary) is a traditional Catholic prayer addressed to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The version of Bach's prelude which Gounod used included the so-called "Schwencke measure" (m.

27 in this arrangement), a measure (bar) allegedly added by the German composer and pianist

Christian Friedrich Gottlieb Schwencke (1767-1822) in an attempt to correct what was considered

a harmonic weakness in the original. Whether there actually was a ?harmonic weakness? (or

possibly an error in the manuscript) remains a matter of conjecture but the fact remains that

the most familiar-sounding version of this piece, recorded countless times by both singers and

instrumentalists includes this Schwencke measure. It is therefore included in this arrangement.
Some published arrangements show minor inconsistencies in the rhythm of the melody. This

arrangement uses the familiar rhythm of the Ave Maria version as it appeared in the 1859

edition.