Shepherd’s Song (Beethoven)

General Info

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Arranger: Brian Slawson
Publisher: Tapspace
Year of Published: 2011
Difficulty: Intermediate
Duration: 00:03:10
Cost: $40.00

Instrumentation

Player 1: Crotales
Player 2: Glockenspiel
Player 3: Xylophone
Player 4: Vibraphone
Player 5: Chimes
Player 6: Marimba 1
Player 7: Marimba 2
Player 8: Marimba 3
Player 9: Marimba 4A
Player 10: Marimba 4B
Player 11: Marimba 5A
Player 12: Marimba 5B
Player 13: Marimba 6A
Player 14: Marimba 6B

Description

It’s hard to imagine that Ludwig van Beethoven’s delicate and good-natured Pastoral Symphony (No. 6) was composed at the same time (1807-–08) as his rambunctious blockbuster Fifth Symphony ... not to mention they were both premiered at the same concert! Opening with the most recognizable four-note riff in the history of music, Beethoven’s Fifth steamrolls its way through a tumultuous path of fate, fire, and fury while his Pastoral Symphony gently communicates his fondness for walks through the countryside and his love of nature. The final movement, “Shepherd'’s Song: Happy and Grateful Feelings after the Storm,” is a remarkably joyful work, and through a large orchestration of mallet instruments, Brian Slawson creates a unique and crowd-pleasing way for percussion ensembles to communicate with sensitivity and richness.

Review

Sometimes a quality transcription of excellent music doesn't quite work. Brian Slawson has created some excellent arrangements for keyboard percussion ensemble, and the "Shepherd's Song" from Beethoven's "Sixth Symphony" is unquestionably a historic and beautiful work. Unfortunately, in this case, the beauty and richness of Beethoven's music seems to be lost in translation despite Brian Slawson's well thought-out orchestration for 14 percussionists.

The vibraphone part and four of the marimba parts require four mallets at some point in the piece, but each is predominantly playable with two mallets. The individual keyboard parts are very technically accessible, featuring passages extensively based on scales and arpeggios with few rhythmic challenges. Each part functions independently, for the most part, with the arrangement providing very few instances of doubling simply due to the numerous individual lines within Beethoven's original orchestra score. Brian Slawson mimics Beethoven's textural contrasts, alternating regularly between full ensemble passages and sections featuring only two or three players at a time.

Perhaps in the perfect hall, with a great degree of attention to mallet choice, stroke types and balance, some of the richness of the original score could be achieved in this piece. Unfortunately, on the surface, the limits of the instrumentation cause this arrangement to fall short of the lyrical lines and fluid texture that Beethoven so skillfully achieved with his orchestra work.

Arrangements for Percussion by this Arranger

Beethoven's Fantasy (Beethoven) - Percussion Trio
Brandenburg No. 2: Allegro Moderato (Bach) - Percussion (10)
Children's Medley (Bach / Ellemenreich) - Percussion Sextet
Clockbox - Percussion Octet
Concerto in A Minor (Bach) - Mallet Sextet
Danse Macabre (Saint-Saëns) - Percussion Octet
Entrance of the Queen of Sheba (Handel)
Etude in C# Minor (Scriabin) - Mallet Duet
Frightmare (Beethoven) - Percussion (12)
Goldberg Variation 28 (Bach)
Heartland (Rameau & Dvořák) - Percussion Octet
Intermezzo from a Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn) - Mallet Octet
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach) - Mallet Sextet
Leggerhead (Bach, Handel, Dvořák) - Percussion Sextet
Menuetto (Mozart) - Percussion Septet
Midsummer Night's Dream: Scherzo (Mendelssohn) - Mallet Ensemble
Rock the Gavotte (Rameau & Ditters von Dittersdorf) - Percussion Octet
Shepherd’s Song (Beethoven) - Percussion (14)
Soca Polka - Percussion (14)
Sonata in A Minor (Scarlatti) - Mallet Duet
Sonata in F (Handel) - Mallet Solo
Sonata in F Minor (Scarlatti) - Marimba
The Storm (Beethoven) - Mallet Trio
Teardrop (Rossini) - Vibraphone; Piano
Three Romanian Dances (Bartók) - Mallet Duet
Upbeat Suite - Mallet Quartet
Waltz in C# Minor (Chopin) - Mallet Duet
Winter (Vivaldi) - Percussion (10)