The Art of the Arranger

[BBMmk2]

AS some forum members have been asking here it is.

The art of arr4anging works to other mediums. personally I don't have any qualms about this art form, so long as it's tastefully done. Most important. Coming from, hitherto, a brass band background and also, studying the piano, I have had the backbone of my musical training with brass band arrangements of the great classics.

Over in America, as a few boarders here will know, I have had a work by Berlioz accepted by an university in Mount Vernon Illinois. I wont say which one, just yet, not until they have premiered my arrangement.

As to the current project I have undertaken(I have free rein here), I am doing the First Movement of Mahler's 6th Symphony. Now with this work does present, a few challenges but not that they can be overcome. For instance, I have added percussion parts in in the opening bars, to enhance the depth of sound, changed parts to another instrument, swapped them over. All manner of ways to combat the challenges of this work.

one of my favourite arrangements of all is Arnold /Schoenberg's orchestration of JSB's Preluded & Fugue in Eb, St Ann. This is a real masterpiece of arranging.

[amateur51]

one of my favourite arrangements of all is Arnold /Schoenberg's orchestration of JSB's Preluded & Fugue in Eb, St Ann. This is a real masterpiece of arranging.

I think this is the one, Bbm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPscpDG1vF0

[BBMmk2]

I think this is the one, Bbm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPscpDG1vF0

Yes Ams, although I think Chandos's recording of it played by the BBCPO/Slatkin is much better. Also it has Respighi's arrangemement of his Passacaglia and Fugue

[BBMmk2]

Yes Ams, although I think Chandos's recording of it played by the BBCPO/Slatkin is much better. Also it has Respighi's arrangemement of his Passacaglia and Fugue

With the aforementioned recording, I would say that Joachim Raff did a not too bad a job on expanding JSB's famous Chaconne!

[Nick Armstrong]

Yes Ams, although I think Chandos's recording of it played by the BBCPO/Slatkin is much better. Also it has Respighi's arrangemement of his Passacaglia and Fugue

I totally agree - that is one of my favourite of all CDs! And also agree about the Schoenberg/Bach arrangement - truly wonderful. So much haunting and exhilarating music on that disc!

[BBMmk2]

Not least Respighi's arrangement of JSB's Passacaglia and Fugue too! Tremendous but Schoenberg just beats them all!

I think though, Schoenberg's arrangement of Brahms's Piano Quartet in G minor, Op.26(?), is his masterwork.

[Serial_Apologist]

Not least Respighi's arrangement of JSB's Passacaglia and Fugue too! Tremendous but Schoenberg just beats them all!

I think though, Schoenberg's arrangement of Brahms's Piano Quartet in G minor, Op.26(?), is his masterwork.

No - "Erwartung". Still modern-sounding to this day; in fact, more modern-sounding than a lot that goes for "contemporary" these daze.

[Flay]

Bbm, would you ever consider arranging the third movement of Mahler's 3rd for brass band? I'm particularly thinking about the delightful posthorn/flugelhorn theme.

[Richard Barrett]

No - "Erwartung". Still modern-sounding to this day; in fact, more modern-sounding than a lot that goes for "contemporary" these daze.

I wouldn't want to get into an argument about what Schoenberg's masterwork was, though I agree with you about how modern Erwartung sounds, but: to me his Brahms arrangement is the work of someone who loved Brahms's music, had a deep insight into how it was constructed, and the necessary skills to orchestrate in Brahms's style. As opposed to the skills of a composer of original music - whether one likes Schoenberg's music or not, to rate his ability as an arranger higher than his ability as a composer is pretty bizarre I think.

My own favourite "arrangement" is Berio's Rendering, on Schubert's sketches for a tenth symphony. But of course Berio was a great composer too.

[Nick Armstrong]

Bbm, would you ever consider arranging the third movement of Mahler's 3rd for brass band? I'm particularly thinking about the delightful posthorn/flugelhorn theme.

Agreed, that movement could work wonderfully well !!

[Petrushka]

I'm not usually one for arrangements of music from one medium to another but admit to being interested in BBM's arrangement of the Mahler 6 opening movement for wind band, a 64 piece US Concert Band if I remember correctly. Listening to Abbado/Chicago SO in this music last night I was struck by how much like a wind band it already sounds! Of course, Mahler's love of the military band shows itself very clearly here and time and time again one notices that it is the woodwind and brass who are carrying the melodic line often doubling the strings for greater emphasis.

I'm not a musician at all, merely a listener so I may have all this wrong. Interested that you say that you have added extra percussion to the opening trudge to give extra weight. I believe that the double basses usually provide that at this point and wonder if tubas would provide the necessary pounding rhythm without resort to extra percussion who are going to be pretty busy throughout!

I'm interested in how you approach such a daunting task (what about those cowbells, for instance?) so any insights are much appreciated.

[DublinJimbo]

My own favourite "arrangement" is Berio's Rendering, on Schubert's sketches for a tenth symphony. But of course Berio was a great composer too.

Yes indeed. And, as with the Schoenberg, Chandos have produced a disc which couples Rendering with two other Berio orchestrations (Brahms Clarinet Sonata No. 1 and six of Mahler's early songs).

[richardfinegold]

I have a friend and neighbor who has directed the wind and concert bands of Concordia University of Chicago for the last 25 years and is well respected and in demand as a teacher and a judge. I was mentioning to him this morning about BBM's work on arranging Mahler 6 and he became very excited, as the 6th is his favorite piece of Mahler. Please BBM, will this be broadcast as a Concert? And can you divulge which University here has commissioned you?

[Flosshilde]

Wonderful the connections that can be made through the forum

[BBMmk2]

I have a friend and neighbor who has directed the wind and concert bands of Concordia University of Chicago for the last 25 years and is well respected and in demand as a teacher and a judge. I was mentioning to him this morning about BBM's work on arranging Mahler 6 and he became very excited, as the 6th is his favorite piece of Mahler. Please BBM, will this be broadcast as a Concert? And can you divulge which University here has commissioned you?

Hello RFG et al! Well Like I said earlier, I will keep the name of the university a secret until the premier of the work that are going to performed. which is the Apotheosis from Berlioz's Symphonie Funebre et Trionfale. Yes, I know it's for wind band per se, but there is much that can be done from Berlioz's score for the concert band I am arranging it for. I am not expecting this to be performed until the next symester. As they only do one concert per term. I'd be happy though if you would loet your friend know more as time goes but until the premier I feel I better keep shut about this. Or wait until I have chatted to either the Head of Faculty of my friend that's a visiting profe3ssor there.

The Mahler I am doing is a work in progress.

The band has five trombones, four euphoniums, four BBb Bass tubas!!(havn't heard yet the number of trumpets but know how many parts to write for). Numerous woodwind, 4 horns, great lot of tuned percussi0on and a battery of unpitched percussion!