Court & Fork
MARCH PAST OF THE

KITCHEN UTENSILS

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Brass Quintet arrangement by: Brian Harris

In 1909, while a student at Cambridge, Vaughan Williams composed a suite of incidental music, (now collectively known asThe Wasps) for a university stage production of a play by ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. March Past of the Kitchen Utensils accompanied the story of a judge who was so fond of legal proceedings that he put his dog on trial for stealing some cheese. To testify as character witnesses on his behalf, the dog calls in some kitchen utensils, including his supper dish. This arrangement for brass is an exact transcription of the original material, lending itself wonderfully to a quintet setting.  

Also available for Saxophone Quintet and Woodwind Quintet (see Instrumentation, below)
LEVEL:
Medium Difficult; Grade 4 

Appropriate for high school players or beyond

SAMPLES:
Sample pages (.pdf): 
Sound files:
COST:
$10 U.S. for PDF of full score and parts. 
PERFORMANCE TIME:
About 3 minutes, 30 seconds.
FEATURES:
  • Everyone (including tuba!) has the melody at least once.
  • CHALLENGES:
  • 6/8 at Trio has hemiola for several measures.
  • Trumpets have several "trill" ornaments.
  • KEY and RANGES:
    Bb major to F minor 

    Trumpet 1 to A above staff; Trumpet 2 to G at top of staff; Horn from G below staff to F at top of staff; Trombone to Eb above staff; Tuba from F below staff to F on staff.

    INSTRUMENTATION:

    BRASS QUINTET: Trumpet 1, Trumpet 2, Horn, Trombone (Euphonium), Tuba (T.C. Euphomium part included)

    WOODWIND QUINTET: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn

    SAXOPHONE QUINTET: Soprano (or Alto 3), Alto 1, Alto 2 (or Tenor 2), Tenor, Baritone (key of Ab major, moving to Eb minor)

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