Blaydon Races for Clarinet Quartet

The Blaydon Races is a folksong from the North East of England, that canters along a quite a pace. It tells the tale of a group of men and women on a day trip to the races on 9th June 1862 and the mishaps they had along the way; a wheel flying off the coach, someone getting a broken nose, and torrential rain that made everything muddy. The words were written by local music-hall performer Geordie Ridley in the same year. Although the story was not based on a specific series of real events, it paints the scene of what race day was like, with all its fun, jollity and mishaps. This arrangement captures the joyfulness and chaos of the 1862 trip. The four verses have different arrangements, with the clarinet 1, 3, and bass clarinet each getting an opportunity to play the tune. Like their journey, the arrangement starts off in good spirits, but there are unexpected key-changes, mimicking the carriage's lurching and rolling. It all whips up to a fast and furious finale. Blaydon Races has become a local national anthem' for the people of north east England, especially around the city of Newcastle and the town of Gateshead. Locals sing this song in their Geordie' dialect on many occasions, including the soccer matches of Newcastle United Football Club. It is also the Regimental Song of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers .