Fall Fair
Godfrey Ridout (arr. Earl Fralik)
This work bears the designation Opus 25.
General Info
Year: 1961 / 1988 / 2010
Duration: c. 4:30
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Canadian Music Centre
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $84.98; (digital) - $63.99 | Score Only (print) - $22.99; (digital) - $17.99
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe (doubling English Horn)
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone I-II
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Electric Bass
Synthesizer (Harp)
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Chimes
- Drumset
- Glockenspiel
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
A CBC [Canadian Broadcast Corporation] commission for a United Nations concert in New York produced the orchestral version of Fall Fair in 1961, and it has remained one of Ridout’s most frequently performed works. This version of the piece was transcribed for band by Earl Fralik and edited by Edmonton’s own Rick Benson, a highly respected band director and a long-time friend of the New Edmonton Wind Sinfonia.
- Program Note by Roberta Baril for the New Edmonton Wind Sinfonia
Fall Fair opens with a noisy flourish followed by a rather vulgar tune in D major, repeated in block harmony. After some elaboration and the introduction of new country-fiddle figures, the first tune appears again, substantially rounded off and in long notes, as a horn solo. After further expansion there is a broad middle section, in A major, a "big tune", for English horn, with harp and plucked strings. Returning to the first tempo, the "bucolicism" is rampant. A lop-sided waltz, a hymny passage, a brief return to the first tune, and finally a coda on the "big tune" wind it up.
- Program Note by composer
Awards
- Fall Fair has been recommended as interesting, serious and distinctive music by members of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Alberta (Edmonton) Summer Band (Angela Schroeder, conductor) - 26 July 2025
- University of Ottawa (Ont., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Victor Herbiet, conductor) – 12 October 2023
- University of North Florida (Jacksonville) Concert Band (Erin Bodnar, conductor) - 11 October 2021
- University of Toronto (Ont., Can.) Wind Symphony (Jeffrey Reynolds, conductor) - 13 October 2018
- New Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) Wind Sinfonia (Raymond Baril, conductor) – 16 July 2015 - WASBE Conference, San Jose, Calif.
- Western University (London, Ont.) Symphonic Band (John Phillips, conductor) – 26 November 2014
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Fall Fair (arr. Fralik) (1961/1988)
- Partita Accademica (1976)
- When Age and Youth Unite
Resources
- Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Godfrey Ridout." Accessed 29 July 2015
- Ridout, G.; Fralik, E. (2010). Fall Fair [score]. Godfrey Ridout Estate Edition: [Ontario?].