Percy Grainger (trans. Leroy Osmon) - The Widow’s Party for Woodwind Choir. Percy Grainger’s The Widow’s Party (1905–08) draws its text from Rudyard Kipling’s Barrack-Room Ballads, where the “Widow” alludes to Queen Victoria and her colonial campaigns. Originally conceived for men’s chorus with piano duet or orchestra, Grainger later arranged the work as an instrumental march for two pianos, six hands. With its jaunty rhythms and vivid character, the piece exemplifies Grainger’s flair for transforming literary sources into music of striking immediacy. Here it has been transcribed for mixed woodwind choir by Leroy Osmon.

Instrumentation:

• Piccolo
• 2 Flutes
• Oboe
• English Horn (or Oboe 2)
• 3 Clarinets (all parts divisi)
• Bass Clarinet
• Contralto Clarinet (or Contrabass Clarinet)
• 2 Bassoons
• 2 Alto Saxophones
• 2 Tenor Saxophones
• Baritone Saxophone