Morehead State University
Re-Orchestration of Philip Wilby’s “Concert Gallop” for Wind Orchestra
Institution
Morehead State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
M. Scott McBride
Abstract
Since 1597, when the well-known Venetian composer Giovanni Gabrielli set a specific instrumentation for his Sonata pian e forte, composers and arrangers have engaged in the practice of assigning particular instruments and voices to the various musical roles played in compositions of the Western music tradition. Compositions that gain popularity have historically been re-orchestrated for other media. One of the most famous 19th Century examples is Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition; a work originally composed for piano but more widely known by its famed symphonic orchestration by Maurice Ravel. This process of re-assigning instruments from one medium to the other, more accurately called orchestration, remains a widely used practice in the Western classical tradition. The purpose of this study is to re-orchestrate for the instruments of the wind orchestra, Philip Wilby's Concert Gallop, a work originally set for the instruments of the British brass band. It is intended that the new wind orchestration will retain the concept of the original composition while expanding on the more limited array of color and expression offered by the brass band instrumentation and exploiting the relatively vast color palate of the wind orchestra. Consideration will be given to the range of each instrument and their color characteristics in the upper, middle, and lower registers, and the special characteristics of the muted brass sound. The orchestration will exploit the essence of the brass sound where appropriate and use the woodwind instruments to accomplish the lighter and more transparent portions of the piece. Distinct articulations, instrumental combinations, and doublings will be imposed to achieve the greatest range of expression for the wind orchestration. Ultimately, this wind orchestration of Wilby’s Concert Gallop will extend the availability of this music to the enthusiast of the wind band medium, worldwide. The study will utilize instrumentation and orchestration texts of Hector Berlioz, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Kent Kennan, Alfred Blatter, and Samuel Adler, and the brass band scores and wind orchestrations of English composer Philip Wilby and other appropriate scores of selected composers.
Re-Orchestration of Philip Wilby’s “Concert Gallop” for Wind Orchestra
Since 1597, when the well-known Venetian composer Giovanni Gabrielli set a specific instrumentation for his Sonata pian e forte, composers and arrangers have engaged in the practice of assigning particular instruments and voices to the various musical roles played in compositions of the Western music tradition. Compositions that gain popularity have historically been re-orchestrated for other media. One of the most famous 19th Century examples is Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition; a work originally composed for piano but more widely known by its famed symphonic orchestration by Maurice Ravel. This process of re-assigning instruments from one medium to the other, more accurately called orchestration, remains a widely used practice in the Western classical tradition. The purpose of this study is to re-orchestrate for the instruments of the wind orchestra, Philip Wilby's Concert Gallop, a work originally set for the instruments of the British brass band. It is intended that the new wind orchestration will retain the concept of the original composition while expanding on the more limited array of color and expression offered by the brass band instrumentation and exploiting the relatively vast color palate of the wind orchestra. Consideration will be given to the range of each instrument and their color characteristics in the upper, middle, and lower registers, and the special characteristics of the muted brass sound. The orchestration will exploit the essence of the brass sound where appropriate and use the woodwind instruments to accomplish the lighter and more transparent portions of the piece. Distinct articulations, instrumental combinations, and doublings will be imposed to achieve the greatest range of expression for the wind orchestration. Ultimately, this wind orchestration of Wilby’s Concert Gallop will extend the availability of this music to the enthusiast of the wind band medium, worldwide. The study will utilize instrumentation and orchestration texts of Hector Berlioz, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Kent Kennan, Alfred Blatter, and Samuel Adler, and the brass band scores and wind orchestrations of English composer Philip Wilby and other appropriate scores of selected composers.