Blackbird Variations - Sheet Music for Brass Quintet Barton Cummings

A series of variations by Barton Cummings on a Vietnamese folk melody. Difficulty level 4 gives the piece very demanding rhythms. Syncopation is used frequently, as well as the more extreme ranges of all instruments.

This variation series originally emerged during stays in Vietnam in 1969 and 1971 and is based on a Vietnamese folk tune called "The Song of the Blackbird". The work was first performed in 1971 by the 266th USARV Band Brass Quintet. The present edition is a revised new version with all necessary corrections and additions from earlier editions.

The composer's intention was to create a short, self-contained work that fits into a program of larger works, provides relief to the players from these and gives them an opportunity to rest and regroup. Each variation is brief and contains melodic elements in different instruments, with each variation drawing on elements of the previous one. The work concludes with a brief restatement of part of the melody.

Barton Cummings is an internationally recognized composer, conductor, author, educator and soloist who has successfully pursued these activities for forty years. His music has been performed by outstanding artists and ensembles, including Harvey Phillips, Mark Nelson, Mary Ann Craig, Janice Cameron and numerous other well-known musicians, as well as various prestigious university ensembles and wind bands.