CFS Large Format Score (12x16, 1-up, 2-sided) (1)

7 P E R F O R M A N C E N O T E S 7
Children’s Folksong Suite is based on five Hungarian folk melodies with a simple, child-like
character that have been culled from sources published between 1813 and 1896. The five
melodies are also found in a collection of Hungarian and Slovakian folk melodies in Béla Bartók’s
piano collection entitled For Children. As with Bartók’s Mikrokosmos and his forty-four Violin
Duets, For Children is an expression of Bartók’s interest in composing accessible works for
young musicians that introduces them to contemporary harmonic resources rarely encountered
at the beginning level. Similarly, the five folk melodies set in Children’s Folksong Suite have
been completely re-harmonized and, in some instances, expanded. Although not bound by
common-practice theoretical expectations, Children’s Folksong Suite preserves each piece’s
unique, child-like character.
Children's Folksong Suite is dedicated to the members of the Leslie Middle School band
(Salem, Oregon) and their conductor Mr. Danh Pham, who commissioned the work.
7 R E H E A R S A L N O T E S 7
In general
The work was composed with 3 optional mallet percussion parts (listed as percussion 4-6). These
percussion parts are not required to perform the work and should only be utilized once the
timpani and percussion parts 1-3 have been covered.
Performances need not include all 5 movements. In the case that the complete work is not
performed, conductors should feel free to present the selected movements in an order that
makes musical sense for the program. The overall timing is approximately 8' 35" with the
breakdown of each movement as follows:
I. 1 25
II. 2 35
III. 1 15
IV. 1 50
V. 1 30
The tenor clef used in the trombone part is only found in the score so as to facilitate notation
and avoid collisions with staves immediately above it. The trombone parts, however, are notated
in bass clef throughout.