Alfred Reed

5 Dances

Alfred Reed composed Five Dances for Five Clarinets in 1956 at the request of the LeBlanc instrument company to introduce the performance capabilities and tone of each instrument of the clarinet family. The five movements are based on musical styles from around the world: 1. Hoe-Down (E-flat Soprano Clarinet), 2. Sarabande (E-flat Alto Clarinet or Basset Horn in F), 3. Guaracha (Bass Clarinet), 4. Afro (E-flat Contra Alto or B-flat Contra Bass Clarinet), and 5. Hora (B-flat Clarinet). Previously, the score and parts for Five Dances for Five Clarinets were only available on a rental basis, and Reed had not included the composition in his own list of published works. Yasuhiro Murakami, author of an annotated list of Reed's works, created this edition based on Reed's manuscript. This work may be performed by one soloist on five different clarinets, by five separate soloists, or a smaller number of the movements may be played by one or by multiple soloists. Each of the Five Dances is also published with piano accompaniments which are still in print. The detailed Master Plan Lesson written by Donald McCathren of LeBlanc for each movement are available for digital download.