Retriever Reveries

This slightly unusual title, Retriever Reveries, reflects the fact that we, as a family, love Golden Retrievers and have shared our lives with them for the past 25 years or so. As a breed they can look very similar but their characters are, of course, very different. These two contrasting pieces highlight just a couple of aspects of life with these faithful and loving companions.

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Level: 3.5 | Duration: 8:10

Instrumentation
Piccolo
Flute 1
Flute 2
Oboe 1 & 2
B-flat Clarinet 1
B-flat Clarinet 2
B-flat Clarinet 3
B-flat Bass Clarinet
Bassoon
Alto Saxophone 1 & 2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

B-flat Trumpet 1
B-flat Trumpet 2
B-flat Trumpet 3
Horn in F 1 & 2
Horn in F 3 & 4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass

Drum Kit
Xylophone
Tambourine

Program Notes
This slightly unusual title reflects the fact that we, as a family, love Golden Retrievers and have shared our lives with them for the past 25 years or so. As a breed they can look very similar but their characters are, of course, very different. These two contrasting pieces highlight just a couple of aspects of life with these faithful and loving companions.

At the ‘Splash’ with Sim
About 10 minutes walk from where I live there is a ford in a river. It is called The Splash and is one of my dog, Simba’s, favourite places. No day is complete for him without a swim in the Splash, no matter what the weather is like. It is a lovely spot where the water swirls gently although on occasions when the river is in full spate it can rise quickly and become forceful. This piece reflects that, with its fluid motif running throughout.

There is some decorative writing for the woodwind but the pace of the music is moderate and the technical demands are therefore easily manageable.

Barnaby Behaving Badly
This vivacious programme number was written for Barnaby (more often known as Barney), Simba’s predecessor in our Golden Retriever succession. He was a very laid back and happy soul, not our brightest-ever retriever, but with the potential for a little mischief when the mood took him.

It was written with the intention of being eminently playable so both the range and the technical demands are carefully controlled and the scoring is designed to make the music sound strong with a band of less experienced players.