Saxophone Quartet (SATB/AATB)
Irish Folksong. Compatible with clarinet and brass editions. Medium
Writing these arrangements, Frank Reinshagen has created little masterpieces, which broaden the rhythmical and harmonic context of the original tunes in an interesting manner without detracting from their archaic and melancholic character. These original tunes are – in a direct or wider sense - of „Celtic origin", in other words, they have been borrowed from the Irish, Scottish and Gaelic musical tradition.
These through-composed arrangements are rather easy to perform from the rhythmical and technical point of view. Yet, they are quite demanding in respect of the key they are written in, their intonation and, especially, their interpretation. Their different instrumentations are fully compatible with each other and, due to their overall structure, they are also suitable to be played with multi-scored parts.
Annotation on "Sons of Liberty"
The original of Sons of Liberty is of a more recent date and goes back to the time when the King of England forced the Irish farmers´ sons to go to war in America against their own fellow countrymen who were striving for freedom there. The arrangement conveys the impression of a vigorous forward motion created by a recurring and changing riff. Although it is written in a somewhat more difficult key (E minor), it is not too exacting from the technical point of view.
