Johnston - The Parting Glass for Clarinet Choir

The Parting Glass arranged for Clarinet Choir by Matt Johnston. Commissioned by Joshua Phillips and the Orange County Clarinet Consort for the International Clarinet Association's 2024 ClarinetFest in Dublin, Ireland. The Parting Glass is a traditional Scottish farewell song, typically sung at the end of a gathering of friends, and perhaps after some drinks. Envisioned here possibly as a semi-”spontaneous” encore piece, with a solo player beginning the verse and all others joining in. The common thread throughout is the Scotch Strathspey of Percy Grainger, alternating with interjections of the melody from The Parting Glass. Various other Grainger references are peppered throughout, and thus the subtitle "Percy Grainger goes to Scotland."

Instrumentation:

• E-flat Clarinet
• 4 B-Flat Clarinets
• Alto Clarinet/Basset Horn/Clarinet 5
• Bass Clarinet
• Contrabass Clarinet/Contralto Clarinet/String Bass