Wild Atlantic Way, The (Band Gr. 5)

The Wild Atlantic Way is an exciting set of series of Irish jigs and reels which captures the spirit of the raucous west coast of Ireland and features numerous solos and high energy moments for every section of the band.

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Level: 5 | Duration: 5:15

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

F Horn
B-flat Trumpet 1
B-flat Trumpet 2
B-flat Trumpet 3
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Trombone 3
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
B-flat Baritone T.C.
Tuba

Timpani (4 drums)
Bells
Vibraphone/Xylophone
Percussion 1 & 2: Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Triangle
Percussion 3: Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbals, Tambourine

Program Notes
The Wild Atlantic Way was inspired by a trip to Ireland. During my tour with the Amarillo Concert Girl Choir we traveled along the west coast of Ireland, performing in a variety of majestic cathedrals and castles and experiencing the extraordinary beauty of that land. The route along the western coast is called The Wild Atlantic Way. It was in one local music store that an idea came to mind while looking through folk music that had been collected from nineteenth century and early twentieth century Irish villages. I coordinated the collection of songs with a map of the WAW and 10 of the tunes matched perfectly. The locations, from south to north, are: Schull, Castle Donovan, Bantra, Bantry, Dingle, Cliffs of Moher, Ballyvaughan, Westport, Ballycastle, and Ballysadare. The melodies are heard as a quasi theme and variations with each tune moving directly to the next. The Wild Atlantic Way was written to capture the spirit of the western Irish coast.