Scores

 The Troubadour (Thornhill)

“The Troubadour” is Gil’s arrangement of one of the movements (“Il vecchio castello” or “The Old Castle”) of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” It was written for and recorded by the Claude Thornhill Orchestra in 1947. It is a brilliant arrangement, and shows Gil’s unique ability to take a melody and adapt it and make it his own. I do want to warn you, this arrangement is really difficult – it’s in a difficult key (G# minor), and there are a passages that are tricky, especially in the woodwind parts. This arrangement definitely needs accomplished woodwind players to pull off well. That said, if your band is up for the challenge, it’s an extremely rewarding piece to perform, and sounds amazing live.

As with all of Gil’s music, close attention needs to be paid to the instrumentation, as it rarely resembles a standard big band. The instrumentation for “The Troubadour” is as follows:

• 3 Flutes (Flute 1 doubles Piccolo)

• 5 Reeds:

  • Reed 1: Clarinet

  • Reed 2: Clarinet, C Flute, Alto Sax

  • Reed 3: Clarinet, Tenor Sax

  • Reed 4: Bass Clarinet, Tenor Sax

  • Reed 5: Bass Clarinet, Baritone Sax

• 2 French Horns

• 3 Trumpets

• 2 Trombones

• 1 Tuba

• 3 Rhythm (Gtr./Bass/Dms.)