Suite No. Two for String Orchestra (or String Quartet)
Douglas Townsend
About this work:
Also called Suite of American Folk Songs for String Orchestra. The three fantasies
are on the following folk songs: All the Pretty Little Horses, The Streets of Laredo,
and The Wee Cooper of Fife. These are not arrangements, but true fantasies. They can be performed separately or as a suite. World premiered by the Garden State Chamber Orchestra, Fred Storfer conducting, in NJ. The Chamber Orchestra of the Norwalk (CT) Youth Symphony gave a partial performance on March 21, 1987, at the Roton Middle School, Norwalk, CT, to celebrate their tenth anniversary. (NY Times 3/15/87; The Hour 3/16/87) The three fantasies are published separately by Carl Fischer. The three together make up Suite No. Two. The scores of all three may be viewed, and the mp3 audio of all three may be heard at
www.lucksmusic.net/cat-ed/ecat-ed.asp?Composer=Townsend. (See the "Fantasy on 'All the Pretty Little Horses'" for performance information on that movement. It has been very popular with youth orchestras and high schools, both in the U.S. and abroad. It is the easiest of the three movements.) The "Wee Cooper of Fife" is the most difficult of the three movements. A good high school or college orchestra (strings) should be able to give a good performance of all three movements (fantasies). They are also meant to be performed by professional string orchestras.
Version: string orchestra
Year composed: 1977
Duration: 00:15:00
Ensemble type: Orchestra:String Orchestra
Instrumentation: 1 Strings (General)
Instrumentation notes: May substitute string quartet for string orchestra.