Minuet For Margaret (June 2015)
When I was a young child and I would ask my mother for something she would often, in the midst of all her busy jobs, say to me, “Oh, give me a minuet!”, meaning jokingly a minute, of course, before she could tend to my wishes. This meant that I grew up believing that a minuet and a minute meant the same thing and could be equally interchanged. You can then imagine my amazement and amusement at around 13/14 years of age when I discovered through my music studies that a minuet was in fact a type of musical form and dance! Therefore, it went without saying that at some point in my music writing life I just HAD to write my Mum a minuet! So, here is the minuet she so often unwittingly asked me for throughout our lives! She attended the premiere of the Flute, violin and piano arrangement in Bolton, UK, and was highly amused (and not a little chuffed) by the story behind the piece!
Naturally, the piece is dedicated to my mother, Margaret (Pearl) Denny, and was finally written in June 2015 for Gary Woolf and the Banda Di Musica in Germany.
Its duration is about 7/8 minutes long and it is intended for junior strings. Violins 1 and 2 are of moderate difficulty, while the Violin 3/violas, cellos/basses are simpler.
There is a violin solo throughout (moderate difficulty), to be played by the Leader, but is not a concerto-style solo, but rather one that weaves in and out of the texture throughout the piece.
The piece is in a minuet and Trio style and is light, tuneful and fun.
There are 3 arrangements available:
No.1 – School Arrangement: Violins 1, 2 and 3, Cellos 1 and 2.
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No.2 – Standard Arrangement: Violins 1 and 2, violas, cellos, Double basses.
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No.3 – Violin, flute and piano. This arrangement is of a more advanced standard than the string orchestra arrangements and would suit players of approximately grade 7 upwards.
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