You Can Can-Can Too (Perc Ens 8)

This clever marriage of Orpheus in the Underworld and Carnival of the Animals for the developing percussion ensemble captures the excitement of the can-can after a lush, slower statement of the theme.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 8
Level: Medium Easy | Duration: 2:45

Instrumentation
Bells Xylophone Vibraphone Marimba 1 (4-octave) Marimba 2 (4.3-octave) Timpani (4 drums) Percussion 1 (Crash Cymbals, Tambourine) Percussion 2 (Triangle, Bass Drum)

Program Notes
For a middle school or high school percussion ensemble, You Can Can-Can Too is accessible to both young students and audiences, exposes students to well-regarded classical music, and can be a setting for an instructor to teach new musical concepts. The piece is an arrangement of the familiar tune The Galop from Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, also borrowing from Saint-Saëns' usage of the theme in The Carnival of the Animals. Notable features include a player-to-player two against three polyrhythm in the first portion of the piece, changing melody and accompaniment roles (including a legato, rolled timpani melody), a modulation from Bb to Eb, and an exciting finish. The marimba parts are playable on a single 4.3 octave instrument, and all mallet parts can easily be doubled on different instruments as needed.