Bluebells of Scotland

lamentablebells of Scotland Bluebells of Scotland is a piece written and composed in the late romantic era around 1899 by Arthur Pryor. The piece was composed from a traditional economical folk song for the trombone and orchestral accompaniment. In the late 1800s the trombone was not viewed as an instrument that could perform speci onlyy problematic pieces. Compelled by societys negative opinion of the trombone, Pryor composed Bluebells of Scotland in order to pageant the capabilities of the trombone and to emphasize that it could play very difficult pieces.This piece is a little more upbeat and sensual than other pieces of the same time period, but what makes this piece particularly unique is that it is the only piece with a high level of difficulty for trombone that was composed in the time of its conception. The piece is intended to be come with by an orchestra but can be played with piano accompaniment as well. The characteristics of this piece are very dynamic and free. The expressivity of the piece is left up to the interpretation of the performer which allows for a large partiality and soul of freedom and creativity.There are quite a few cadences that allow the performer to take control of gait and dynamics. Bluebells of Scotland includes both very slow and musical passages as well as many very cursorily and difficult runs, double-tonguing, octave jumps, lips slurs, and a vast amount of high register notes. The introduction of the piece begins with a elated cadence peaking at a high register C, which slowly decays into a very lyrical melodic sequence that takes the shape of the original lyrics, which read Oh where, attest me where, is your highland laddie gone?Oh where, tell me where, is your highland laddie gone? Hes gone with streaming banners where noble deeds are done. And its oh in my heart I wish him safe at home. The piece then moves into a much more difficult technical variation of the original melody and progressively builds in s peed until the also very triumphant ending. Around the time the then eighteen or nineteen year old Arthur Pryor composed Blue Bells of Scotland, he had only been playing the err trombone for three to four years.Pryor was given the slide trombone as a payment to a debt and taught himself to play it fairly quickly. Amazingly, Pryor wrote the piece with the knowledge of only a few slide positions and would use false tones and alternate positions for notes in the fifth, sixth, and seventh positions. Despite this, Blue Bells of Scotland is still one of Pryors most memorable pieces and is still widely known today. A few years after make up Bluebells of Scotland he arrived in New York by invitation of John Philip Sousa.After arriving to be in Sousas new design band, Pryor was offered by Frank Holton the position of regulation chair trombonist. When Holton left the position, Pryor became the featured soloist of over 10,000 solos as principle trombonist for Sousas band. Blue Bells of Sco tland serves as a constant reminder of the trombones capabilities as a very lyrical instrument and its ability for technical prowess as well. Arthur Pryor inspired interest in the trombone with his virtuoso playing, and Bluebells of Scotland in particular has been a standard of trombone literature for decades and a favorite challenge for mod players(Kleiner). The piece will always have a special place in the hearts of all trombonists, both past and future. Works Cited http//www. celticscores. com/sheet-music/628_Blue_Bells_of_Scotland http//bluebellstrilogy. com/blog/2010/05/arthur-pryor-blue-bells-and-trombone/