The last of my projects for the Hartt School Reed Quintet is an arrangement of three Scott Joplin Rags. Because these are so short, I was not as concerned about resting each of the musicians as I was in the Bach Orchestral Suite arrangement. My major focus was to achieve a variety of instrumental colors. It is very easy to transcribe a piano composition by giving the melody to the top instrument and so on down through the score. What is more challenging is spreading the melody among all the instruments and then adjusting the voicing to accommodate the displacement of the melody. The result is more fun to play and to listen to. When you listen to the arrangement, notice all the different colors I was able to achieve with the five instruments.
As with the Bach arrangement, I also adjusted articulation and dynamics to fit the wind ensemble. These are fun pieces that will definitely have great audience appeal.
To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/joplin_rags_blog.html. You will be viewing a transposed score.
As always, your comments are appreciated.
Dr. B
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