Ring In the New Year With This Classic Tune
As with any year, 2016 had its ups and downs.
I feel I’ve grown musically thanks to opportunities I’ve had, and look forward to continuing on that journey in 2017. I’m happy with the progress I’ve made with my music over at Sheet Music Plus and plan on adding several more pieces to my catalog next year. (If you’re a composer or arranger and want to start selling on SMP, I’d be grateful if you used my referral link to sign up). I enjoy playing with several ensembles, and I’m happy to see my Knock on Wood Clarinet Choir grow in membership. I do have things to work on, though, and more regular posting for this blog is one of those things. But at least I’m here now, with one last post of 2016. And what better song to chat about than Auld Lang Syne?
History of the song
Most of us are familiar with this tune, as it’s played and sung on New Year’s Eve around the world. The lyrics are attributed to Robert Burns, though he said he was simply the first person to write down the old words. (For regular readers of the blog, you’ll remember that we talked about ol’ Robbie before, with the piece Tam O’Shanter). This particular version was arranged by Charles A. Wiley (1925-1992), a prominent band director who later founded TRN Music Publisher, Inc. This is my favorite arrangement of Auld Lang Syne. I think that’s partly because it has a similar feel to Grainger’s Irish Tune from County Derry, which is another favorite of mine.
Let’s listen to the piece
The piece begins with the melody in the middle to low voices, most notably first trombone and baritone. The accompaniment is understated, with some slow movement here and there throughout the band. At 0:33, as we begin the chorus, there’s a lovely descant line above the melody. The music swells toward the climax of the first section, then fades to a final chord.
The second verse begins with the melody in the upper winds (1:07), bringing out a different tonal quality than we heard at the beginning. The accompaniment starts out similarly understated, with the range extending downward throughout the first several measures of the verse. Around 1:17, however, you start to sense a running line happening in the clarinets. The flutes join that line at 1:25.
As we transition from the verse to the chorus (1:38), there’s a series of “bell tones“ that rise up through the brass and percussion. The band crescendos to a nice, full sound for the chorus. We still have some bell tones, then the brass take over the running line (1:52), albeit more punctuated than what we’d previously heard in the woodwinds. The chorus quiets down a bit as it reaches the end, but not much since it turns around into a crescendo to bring us into the final stretch.
Instead of going into a third verse, Wiley takes us into a repeat of the chorus (2:17). He expands the music in volume and range, pushing in new directions compared to what we’ve heard throughout the piece so far. The first line of the chorus has the melody with powerful chords supporting it; the second line treats us to a forceful horn line running through it (2:26). We also hear percussion that waited to have its say until now (cymbals and timpani). As we reach the last lines of the song, the ensemble quiets down to a peaceful ending.
And so we say goodbye to another year. Whether 2016 was good, bad, or indifferent for you, I wish you all a happy and healthy 2017. Thank you for joining me on this musical journey at Tonal Diversions!
