Variants on an English Melody

Variants on an English Melody is a theme with orchestrational variations of a traditional English folk song arranged for clarinet sextet. In the second variation, the alto clarinet, being the middle register voice, has the solo line while the accompaniment figure is passed around and through the whole range of the ensemble. A Basset Horn part is also included as a possible substitution for the Alto Clarinet. The E-flat Contra-Alto is the preferred instrument for the bottom voice, as it creates a more balanced blend with the ensemble, however, a B Contrabass part is included if one is not available.

While originally written as a sextet, the piece could also be played as a clarinet choir. The alto, bass, contra-alto, and opt. contrabass parts do not require instruments which go below low E, and the bass and contra parts stay mostly in the chalumeau register.

Instrumentation: E-flat Clarinet, B-flat Clarinet 1, B-flat Clarinet 2, Alto Clarinet (opt. Basset Horn substitution), Bass Clarinet E-flat Contra-alto Clarinet (opt. B-flat Contrabass Clarinet substitution).

Length: 3.5 minutes

Instrument ranges (written): E-flat clarinet: chalumeau C4 – altissimo E6, B-flat clarinet 1: chalumeau C4 – clarion B5, B-flat clarinet 2: low F3 – clarion F5, Alto clarinet: low E3 – clarion A5, opt. Basset horn: low D3 – clarion G5, Bass clarinet: low F3 – clarion D5, Contra-alto clarinet: low E3 – throat A4, opt. Contrabass clarinet: chalumeau A3 – clarion D