This piece is No. X from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Byrd was the leading English composer of his generation, and was a protegé of Thomas Tallis. This arrangement by Bill Reichenbach remains faithful to Byrd’s original music, and the brass quintet instrumentation adds color and dynamic shading to intensify the expressive qualities of the music. This piece was made popular to instrumentalists in Gordon Jacob’s William Byrd Suite for band.

An optional ending has been added if you want to stop where the band piece ends. There is also an option to continue, and it gets quite note-y, but provides an excellent opportunity to showcase technical and rhythmical facility. Slurs have been added to facilitate some of the runs, and may be ignored if so desired. Additional dynamics may be added according to the rise and fall of the melodic lines.

Composer: Bill Reichenbach
Instrumentation: 2 Bb Trumpets, F Horn, Trombone, Bass Trombone/Tuba
Duration/# of Pages: ca. 2:00 or 4:25 / 27 pages, 8.5″ x 11″
Key: N/A