Robin Hood & His Merry Men (Scherzo) for clarinet quartet (mp3)
Clarinet Quartet - MP3 Download

Performed by the Iris Clarinet Quartet
Score:

(coming soon)

'Robin Hood and His Merry Men' is a scherzo with trio. The opening section is light and lively, and opens in D-flat Major before modulating after just four measures to the home key of C. The heroic main theme is presented by the first clarinet then boldly taken up by the bass clarinet. After a brief but dramatic digression into A minor, the principal theme is heard once more in the first clarinet before the animated scherzo section fades away, yielding through a quiet transition to a trio section-the 'heart' of the movement.਍ഀ The trio opens with a tender new theme in A Major and 2/4 time and suggests the bond of friendship uniting Robin and his followers. With several changes of meter, the theme takes an unexpected turn into the remote key of C-sharp minor. After the theme is repeated, a solemn transitional section, whose melodic contours anticipate a return to the opening of the scherzo, eventually cadences on G-sharp-the enharmonic dominant of the D-flat Major in which the scherzo originally began and now begins anew.

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