Product Description
This is one of the brightest and quirkiest brass quintet arrangements of Debussys "Golliwogs Cake Walk" available today. It is derived from the original piano score, and within each phrase the melody, the harmony and the rhythm figures have been carefully assigned to the instruments most appropriate to pitch and mood . . . with a few surprises! This piece is upbeat and fun, a real crowd pleaser.
Claude Debussys Childrens Corner (L. 113), was published in 1908. Dedicated to the composers three-year-old daughter, it took the form of a suite for piano. "Golliwogs Cakewalk" was the last of the suites six pieces. In the late 19th century, a set of popular childrens novels featured a black-face minstrel-style rag doll character called a Golliwogg [sic]. Also during that period, minstrel shows featured the cakewalk, a dance that involved elaborate strutting. Debussy framed the music in ragtime style, and the result has been described as "playful and angular." It also translates perfectly for brass quintet.
This arrangement was completed in 2012, and performance time runs about 2 minutes, 45 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for euphonium) at no charge; contact him directly at lessmith61@bellsouth.net. For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the search box. (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.)
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.