Folk Music for String Orchestra

Let your students show off their very best lyrical playing in this gorgeous arrangement of a traditional Scottish love song. Parts for all instruments have melodic interest as the melody flows through

In this well-known Scottish ballad, a rider rides his horse away from home one sunny day. Later, his horse returns, but he does not. The melody of this ballad depicts his bride's emotional reaction to the

This may be the quintessential arrangement of this popular tune for string orchestra. In his first published string work, Vargas has given all parts interesting material in a quasi-contrapuntal sound

The "salley gardens" in Yeats' poem are thought to refer to the banks of the river at Ballysadare near Sligo. The opening introduces the melody, without harmonization, in octaves in the violins. In the

The music for this familiar love song dates back to around 1790. After a brief introduction, the first violin melody is arranged with fresh harmonic touches to spice up an already pretty tune. Variations of

Using the familiar ancient English folk song melody, the arranger spins out a "fantastic" meditation on Greensleeves. Fragments of the melody tease the listeners' ear in the engaging introduction,

This authentic and energetic arrangement of the Hebrew folk song uses a solo quintet and percussion instruments to expand the palette of the traditional string orchestra. Percussion instruments used include

This engaging piece was inspired by the beautiful scenery of Inishowen, a peninsula in Northern Ireland. The first movement is slow and lyrical, depicting the beauty of standing on the shore, looking at the

A lively folk dance arranged for young orchestra musicians. The main theme is based on the eastern Kentucky folk tune Old Joe Clark, a song about a 19th-century Kentucky mountaineer, in an

La culebra is a traditional Mexican folk dance that depicts a story of a group of men working in the fields. As they are working, their wives are on their way to the fields to pay a visit. On their

Written as a tribute to Valentina Ramirez Avitia, who fought in the Mexican Revolution at a time when women were not allowed in the Mexican military, this folk song tat is played by many mariachi groups in

First published in 1855, this famous folk song originated in County Derry in what is now Northern Ireland. Though there are other settings for strings of this beautiful ballad already in print, this intense

From a plaintive and prayerful solo violin opening, this arrangement of a well-known spiritual builds in power and emotion with each successive verse. The melody passes between voices, and frequent and

This enchanting minor-tonality piece for string orchestra is about fish in a river that swim by Mary, Joseph and the newborn child, Jesus. The fish swim back and forth in the river hoping for a glimpse of

Written in the 1800s, it is danced by a man and a woman with lots of stomping and heel tapping, while wearing traditional Mexican outfits. The man flings his sombrero (Mexican hat) to the ground, and the

This beautiful and moving setting of the emotional spiritual is known to have brought tears to Abraham Lincoln when he first heard it. Colorful harmonies, a wide variety of scoring techniques, and

Influenced by the music of Appalachia, this setting of a lullaby feels like a love ballad and evokes feelings of home and country. Visions of a beautiful spring or summer evening come to mind. This piece is