Concert Band
Clarinet Calypso
Grade 2 | 4 Mins
Music from the Caribbean is instantly recognisable. It somehow conveys sunshine and lazy summers and is full of the ‘feel-good’ factor. It is this infectious happiness that composer Philip Sparke has tried to capture in Clarinet Calypso.
Featuring the percussion section throughout (which, of course, may be elaborated if more players are available) it opens with an optional clarinet solo and then duet before the whole band takes up the theme. The brass then present a contrasting second theme which is repeated with different instrumentations. At 59 the bass instruments offer their own variation (these 8 bars may be omitted by bands with few bass instruments) until the two main themes are combined at 75. After this climax, the clarinets reverse their roles and the piece ends as it began.