Scottish Folk Song

SKU: CF.FAS39

ISBN 9780825863301. UPC: 798408063306. 8.5 X 11 inches. Key: D major.

Virginia Croft's experience as a string player and educator is evident in the care with which she has scored this beautiful folk tune idiomatically for young string players. Relatively easy to play, Skye Boat Song is a great opportunity to develop lyrical playing habits with a developing string group.
Here is a very playable setting of a beautiful Scottish folk song. It commemorates one of the most exciting moments in Scottish history in the middle of the eighteenth century during the Jacobite Rebellion. At this time, a small group of men escaped by night in a tiny boat across the rough sea to the Isle of Skye to save the life of the young lad whom they believed to be the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland.As you play this music, can't you feel the boat rocking and the oarsmen straining at their posts against the sea? The long diminuendo from m. 51 to the end passes the final melodic fragment down through the voices until the small boat has vanished into the distance, leaving only the water.The words of the original folk song are:Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wind;Hark, how the seagulls cray!Carry the lad that was born to be kindOver the sea to Skye!.

SKU: CF.YAS225

ISBN 9781491162736. UPC: 680160921485. Key: A minor.

This plaintive Scottish tune was used extensively by Michael Nyman in his score for Jane Campion's film, The Piano. This arrangement offers young players an entrée into the rich breadth of Scottish folk music with a lilting dotted melody that is fun to play. With pizzicato and staccato accompaniments, this lyrical melody is passed around to every section of the orchestra. The lyrics tell of winter’s end giving way to bright flowers of spring, which the singer compares to his darling loved one. While playable in first position, more advanced students may practice playing in higher positions with ringing vibrato.

About Carl Fischer Young String Orchestra Series

This series of Grade 2/Grade 2.5 pieces is designed for second and third year ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:
--Occasionally extending to third position
--Keys carefully considered for appropriate difficulty
--Addition of separate 2nd violin and viola parts
--Viola T.C. part included
--Increase in independence of parts over beginning levels