Londonderry Air

Londonderry Air
Composed by Percy Grainger
Arranged for Flute Choir by Robert K. Webb
Pubilshed by Alry Publications
Duration: 3’55”
Includes score and parts

Instrumentation:
Piccolo (and C Flute)
4 C Flutes
Alto Flute 1 (or Flute 5)
Alto Flute 2 (or Flute 6)
Bass Flute

Performance Notes:
One of the most basic intentions of this arrangement of Londonderry Air was to give the alto flutes a place to demonstrate their characteristic sound in a very melodic setting. In doing this, a tremendous amount of responsibility was placed on the flutes to perform their parts in the ensemble so as to achieve optimum balance between the melodic and accompanying parts.
The second intention was to give the piccolo a melodic responsiblity rather than its usual comedic role found in most band, orchestra and ensemble music. With this new role also comes the responsiblity to perform in a very melodic fashion, to blend with the other flutes in the quintet section without seeming to scream at the audience.
In all, this arrangement must be played with a sense of ensemble balance. That in spite of the tessitura of any part, its goal is to blend and balance, but never cover, the melodic line. The difficulty of the performance lies not in the technical challenge of the individual part, but in the making the part a partner in the total ensemble.
– Robert K. Webb