My Blog
Drunken Bassoon or Not?
The second movement of Sir Malcolm Arnold's Four Scottish Dances has a famous bassoon solo. Conductors, bassoonists, and other musicians often refer to it as the "drunken bassoon solo", but is that what the composer intended? Woodwindly set out on a mission to find out. Do you agree with our findings (comment below)?
Malcolm Arnold - Four Scottish Dances arranged for Wind Quintet - Part 2 - The Challenges
Following the publication of my arrangement of Malcolm Arnold's Four Scottish Dances for Wind Quintet in November 2022, the Malcolm Arnold Society asked if I would write an article about the arrangement for their quarterly newsletter (see Beckus Newsletter No.128, Spring 2023). The article is summarised in 2 blogs here; this one discusses some of the challenges faced when arranging this orchestral work for smaller forces.
Malcolm Arnold - Four Scottish Dances arranged for Wind Quintet - Part 1
Following the publication of my arrangement of Malcolm Arnold's Four Scottish Dances for Wind Quintet in November 2022, the Malcolm Arnold Society asked if I would write an article about the arrangement for their quarterly newsletter (see Beckus Newsletter No.128, Spring 2023). The article will be summarised in 2 blogs here; this one explaining the background to choosing the work and the next one discussing the challenges faced and how they were addressed. Click above to read the article.
