Everything you need to perform Fantasia on an Olde English Tune for Chamber Orchestra.

Comes with:

• Conductor's Score (9x12)

• All Parts for the Ensemble (9x12). 

PDF emailed upon purchase.

Note: Only available in PDF form.

Instrumentation

Flute/Picc, Ob, Bb Cl, Bsn, | Hn, Tpt, Tbn, Tuba | Strings

Program Note

When I first heard the folk song Death and the Lady, I was fascinated by it in many ways. The snaking melody, the shifting modes, and the lyrical content (shown below) that, while somber in nature, weren’t depressing and in some ways joyous in sound. All of these elements were fascinating to me and I instantly wanted to take the material as a basis of a composition. I decided to take the core melody of the first verse, in the versions that I have heard it as, and use it as the basis for a theme and variations. In the short 6 minutes of the piece there’s 12 variations, an introduction, and a coda. Each variation contains at least a small fragment of the original melody, though it is more hidden in some than others. Despite the storytelling nature of the original song, this piece isn’t really programmatic, though it still plays with the meaning behind the lyrical content in the final two variations. The second to last variation represents the woman’s pleas to give her a little more time, while the final variation and coda turn into a funeral march to reflect how despite her pleas, Death still comes for her in the end.