Arirang is arguably the most popular and best-known Korean folk song, both inside and outside Korea. Arirang is anancient native Korean word with no direct modern meaning. 'Ari' means "beautiful" (For example the native Korean word???? means "beautiful", "lovely", "charming") 'Rang' can mean "dear".Origin of the titleMany versions of the song open by describing the travails the subject of the song encounters while crossing amountain pass. "Arirang" is one name for the pass and hence the title of the song. Some versions of Arirangmention Mungyeong Saejae, which is the main mountain pass on the ancient Joseon Dynasty road betweenSeoul and southeastern Gyeongsang Province.Duration 3:55contact me at james.pybus@rogers.com.

Gustav Holst - Folksongs of Hampshire England . In the early 1900's there was great interest in collecting and preserving the folk songs of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Equipped with their newly invented recording devices, people such as Cecil Sharp, Charles Stanford, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Gustav Holst would travel into the country-side to record, or notate songs being sung. They would frequently use these songs in their own compositions. Holst's music in particular is filled with those songs and his two suites for band are especially valued by wind bands around the world. This group of four songs was arranged for voice and piano by Holst and set for clarinet choir by John Gibson. The songs are 1. Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low 2. Bedlam City 3. The Irish Girl 4. Young Reilly. The instrumentation is: Eb Soprano Clarinet, Bb Soprano Clarinet 1 - 3, Alto Clarinet (with an alternate 4th Bb part), Bass Clarinet, Contra Bass or Contralto. Although an alternate for alto is provided, the alto is preferred.

Containing two of Grieg's most famous melodies, the Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 is a work in four movements. The iconic Morning Mood sets a tone of awakening, which is followed by the slow and dark Aese's Death. The lilting Anitra's Dance provides a jovial aside before the suite finishes with the instantly-recognizable In the Hall of the Mountain King. The piece in its entirety will round out any type of recital or formal event, and the individual movements can be used to fill out themed activities.

The Queen's Gambit is a miniseries that Netflix released in October 2020, and it quickly became one of their most-watched shows around the world.

Show aside, it has one of the most exciting musical scores, with the title number being my absolute favorite of the entire soundtrack, written by Carlos Rafael Rivera.

Scored for 3 Bb and bass clarinets or 4 Bb clarinets.

Geared for the more advanced groups, this piece is on fire from start to finish. At under 2 minutes, your quartet will have quite the workout. This would be a great opener or closer for your concerts.

Duration: 1.75 minutes

La Feria (The Fair) is a Spanish fiesta! All the sights and sounds of a traditional Spanish street festival.
Paul Lacome wrote mostly operas-bouffes, light comic operas. That same drama and delight comes through in this piece. Originally written for orchestra, there have been many popular arrangements for band. I have arranged it for Clarinet Quartet without losing any of the Spanish tradition or dramatic character of the piece.
The Suite is in 3 sections. The first is entitled Los Toros (The Bulls). The running of the bulls is a tradition of nearly every Spanish fair. This highly energetic and rhythmic section is traditional Spanish fiesta music at its best. The second section is entitled La Reja (loosely-The Gate). This one is in the form of a Serenade. Every fair has a street barred off with a special archway entrance or gate. Inside, tents are set up serving local wine. Strolling street musicians will visit each tent and serenade. This section is scaled back dynamically and also in texture to imitate the solo or duo strolling musician. For the B theme of this section I move the melody to the Clarinet 3 part down low. I like to amuse myself and think of this brief growling melody as a tipsy patron of the tent singing back to the musicians. The street musicians then quickly resume their original song. The final section is entitled La Zarzuela. The Zarzuela is a uniquely Spanish comic opera that is heavy on dance and spoken dialogue. It has much in common with the American vaudeville shows. This section is in the form of a brisk waltz, another high energy rhythmic dance where Clarinet 2 takes the B theme melody.
This piece is of Advanced Intermediate difficulty due to constant movement, articulations, rhythm, and range. Clarinet 1 in particular uses the full range of the instrument.
21 page score, 4 pages @ part, 38 pages total booklet
4:30 minutes
temporary MIDI recording

One of the most popular songs of all time, Moon River was written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer in 1960 for the film Breakfast at Tiffany's. The song was performed in the film by Audrey Hepburn, and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Song. Moon River has since been recorded by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Barry Manilow, Amy Winehouse Louis Armstrong, and hundreds of others. Therefore, it deserves its reputation as one of the most well-loved songs in history.

This arrangement is for standard clarinet quartet of 3 Bb clarinets and 1 bass clarinet. The PDF download includes a full score and all four parts.

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