A tour de force concert finale bubbling with Italian passion
Monday, 05 May 2025
This tour de force new arrangement from BrookWright Music arranged by Philip Lawrence provides an ideal barnstorming finale to a concert.
The ‚Italian‘ was really Mendelssohn’s ‚Third Symphony‘ at the time it was completed in 1833. Although a youthful work it shows a perfect mastery of symphonic composition and was inspired by an earlier visit to the country where the vivid sights and sounds had impressed him immensely.
The atmosphere impelled him to translate his impressions into another symphony with the dazzling Saltarello conjuring up a picture of Italian peasants dancing frantically in a wild and whirling fashion, not unlike the tarantella.
The arranger says: ‚It was noted by some players of the day that the orchestral parts were somewhat virtuosic for the time, and this virtuosic style inspired me to arrange this for brass band.‘
To view a rolling score video of the work featuring the Fairey Band visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvcuwwJQrR8
PDFs available from https://www.brookwrightmusic.com/product-page/saltarello-from-italian-symphony-brass-band-mendelssohn-arr-phil-lawrence
Sheet music available from:
UK: www.brassband.co.uk or www.durhammusic.co.uk
USA: www.solidbrassmusic.com
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May 5 • A tour de force concert finale bubbling with Italian passion
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