CURRENT TITLES AVAILABLE FROM AMB CLARINET
CLICK HERE FOR CLARINET TRIO ARRANGEMENTS
CLICK HERE FOR CLARINET QUARTET ARRANGEMENTS
FOR CLARINET CHOIR
- All transcriptions and arrangements are for the following instrumentation: Eb Soprano Clarinet, Bb Clarinet 1, 2, & 3, Eb Alto Clarinet, Basset Horn in F (in place of Alto Clarinet), Bb Bass Clarinet, Eb Contra-alto Clarinet, Bb Contrabass Clarinet (in place of Eb Contra).
- Each set contains one part for each instrument plus conductor's score.
- AMB102 and AMB105 are for solo clarinet with clarinet choir accompaniment.
AMB101 Moussorgsky: Great Gate of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition
$25
Transcribed from the composer's composer's original work for solo piano, this piece is a perfect finale to any clarinet choir concert. There is one small challenging section toward the end for the Eb and Bb clarinets, otherwise a very straight-forward piece.
Level = Intermediate
AMB102 Mozart: "O zitt're nicht" from The Magic Flute
$25
This is the first aria sung by The Queen of the Night in the opera The Magic Flute. Scored for Solo Bb Clarinet with choir accompaniment, the solo part is taken directly from the aria. Wonderful opportunity to feature a clarinet soloist.
Level = Intermediate for ensemble, Advanced for soloist
AMB103 Glinka: Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla
$40
This transcription is a lot of fun and requires strong, independent playing by all participants. There are a few very tricky scale passages for the Bb clarinets and some tuning issues for the Eb soprano. Great opener and crowd pleaser.
Level = Advanced
AMB104 Prelude to Verdi's la Traviata
$15
Slow and beautiful, this transcription is easy to piece together. Most challenging section is tuning the introduction. Eb player should be comfortable playing and tuning above the staff.
Level = Advanced Beginner
AMB105 Mozart: Aria from The Magic Flute
$25
This is the second aria sung by The Queen of the Night in the opera The Magic Flute. Scored for Solo Bb Clarinet with choir accompaniment, the solo part is taken directly from the aria. This is the longer of the two arias sung by the Queen of the Night. Wonderful opportunity to feature a clarinet soloist.
Level = Intermediate for ensemble, Advanced for soloist
AMB106 Gounod: Funeral March of a Marionette
$25
Excellent choice for those October and Halloween concerts. This version has the complete work as written by Gounod. Often times we just hear the introduction, main theme and coda. This transcription is of the entire piece, including a very short fugue after the main theme.
Level = Advanced Beginner/Intermediate
AMB107 Scherzo from Schubert's Octet, Op. 166
$25
The Scherzo and Trio from the famous Octet Op. 166 written by Schubert. Lots of instrument pairings in this work. Fun and playful. Nice bass line in Trio.
Level = Intermediate
AMB108 Ravel: Mother Goose Suite
$50
This was the first "ambitious" transcription I created and my high school choir loved it! Taken from the piano four-hand version by the composer, there are some extremely delicate and tricky writings for all voices. The Conversation between Beauty and the Beast creates a lovely duet for Bb clarinet and Contra and the pagoda movement has a very exposed part for the Eb clarinet.
Level = Advanced
AMB109 Anderson: Christmas Festival
$25
My students loved playing this piece on their band concert every year. Taken directly from the composer's holiday work for orchestra, all of your favorite carols somehow make it into the piece. Tricky Eb part towards the end. Crowd favorite.
Level = Intermediate
AMB110 J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor
$40
When a clarinet choir is playing well in tune it often sounds like a pipe organ. So, why not transcribe the most-famous organ piece? Some very tricky moments in the Toccata section, especially for Eb, first and second clarinets. Opening can be tricky for the conductor as well. Once the fugue starts it is smoother sailing.
Level = Advanced
AMB111 Waltz from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake
$35
I was playing the Broadway run of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake and my head was filled with that glorious score all the time, particularly the waltzes. I kept wondering if it would work for clarinet choir and I decided to make a go of it. This one is a lot of blowing, but totally worth the effort in the long run.
Level = Intermediate/Advanced
AMB112 Overture to Mozart's Magic Flute
$35
This lovely overture works very well for clarinet choir. Independent playing by everyone will make this piece successful. Tricky tuning in sustained chords.
Level = Intermediate/Advanced
AMB113 Overture to HMS Pinafore
$35
There is nothing like a little Gilbert and Sullivan to perk up a concert. My high school kids used to perform this transcription without conductor. One tricky passage for Eb, first and seconds, otherwise lots of fun.
Level = Intermediate
AMB114 Overture to Iolanthe
$35
Get your tongues ready! This is really great for working on articulation. Lots of tonguing and some divisi sections. Fun to listen to and challenging to play.
Level = Intermediate/Advanced
AMB115 Pierne: March of the Tin Soldiers
$20
This is an absolutely charming little piece and a great way to open the second half of a concert. French marches are slightly faster than American marches, so please keep that in mind when rehearsing this piece. Eb very exposed in third octave.
Level = Advanced Beginner
AMB116 Debussy: The Girl with the Flaxen Hair
$15
Debussy's works transcribe very well for clarinet choir. This chart is full of color and rubato. While not very difficult it is elegant and simple.
Level = Beginner/Advanced Beginner
AMB117 Debussy: Jimbo's Lullaby from Children's Corner Suite
$15
This transcription features the contra player in your ensemble and is possible to be played on both Eb and Bb Contra. Good parts for all.
Level = Intermediate
AMB118 Mascagni: Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
$15
Beautiful to listen to and satisfying to play. A lot of doubling and octaves, so good intonation must be worked on in this chart. Eb ends on a high E.
Level = Beginner/Advanced Beginner
AMB119 Moussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
$75
Not for the faint hearted! This transcription was written from the original piano solo, all major movements plus corresponding promenades. I must admit this was really an academic project at first. I thought, why not write this out for clarinet choir? It is very difficult and challenging, but the music is so fantastic that I think it is worth the effort. Feel free to play just a few movements or create a suite. Oh, did I mention that it is quite difficult and challenging? Good luck!
Level = Advanced+
AMB120 Debussy: Arabesque No. 1
$30
When I was a student, I heard my clarinet hero, Harold Wright play an arrangement of this on a recital. Wright's playing was simple and elegant and I think perfect for Debussy. This works so well for a clarinet ensemble.
Level = Intermediate
AMB121 Tchaikovsky: Dance of the Jesters
$35
This flashy number is from "The Snow Maiden." Originally for orchestra, this piece has also been arranged for symphonic band and has made its way on to several All-State concerts over the last decade. It is a real showpiece for Eb, and Bb clarinets.
Level = Advanced
AMB122 Prokofieff: Music for Children, Op. 65
$50
Taken from the composer's set of children's piano pieces, this set is comprised of 12 movements. A couple of the faster movements are rather tricky, technically speaking, but the majority of the pieces are lovely and approachable and full of Prokofieff's rich harmonies.
Level = Intermediate+
AMB123 Kreisler: Tambourin Chinois
$35
Kreisler wrote some marvelous show pieces for the violin. I used to hear Juilliard Pre-College kids practicing this all the time when I was on the faculty. One day I thought, "I wonder if this would work for clarinets?" Well, this is a tough one, but I so enjoy a good challenge!!
Level = Advanced for Upper clarinets
AMB124 Rachmaninoff: Italian Polka
$20
Great composer. Played a band transcription of this when I was a student. Lots of fun and very haunting. B section has a few notes for the upper clarinets.
Level = Intermediate
AMB125 von Weber: Invitation to the Dance
$40
This is my favorite transcription to date. Programmatic music time, everybody! The introduction suggests a dance and a shy young man getting up his courage to ask a sweet young lady to be his partner in a dance. Very sweet! The music starts up and develops into this dancing frenzy of notes and volume and swirling passages for all the clarinets. The piece comes to an abrupt stop as the introductory music is reintroduced. Is the dance over? Was it all just a dream? Taken from Weber's fabulous piece for solo piano. A must for your clarinet choir collection.
Level = Advanced
AMB126 Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance No. 4
$30
Of all the Pomp and Circumstance marches I enjoy this best. The theme in the middle section is so regal and very British and I think this was played at Princess Diana's wedding. Good parts for all.
Level = Intermediate
AMB127 Overture to Yeomen of the Guard
$35
This overture has a very splashy opening but the notes all sit in that comfort zone. Like other Gilbert & Sullivan overtures, Yeomen has some impressive fast passages as well as lyrical moments. This one is great fun.
Level = Intermediate
AMB128 Shostakovich: Festive Overture
$40
Get those fingers limbered up and ready for this fantastic transcription. Most of us have enjoyed playing this overture in orchestra and/or band. Soprano clarinets will have a lot of fun with this chart. Eb clarinet part is quite challenging. This will be a great opener to any clarinet choir concert.
Level = Advanced
AMB129 Johann Strauss: Overture to die Fledermaus
$40
Pop those champagne bottles and prepare for a festive holiday tradition, be it New Year’s Eve or any special occasion. This classic is great fun for most high school, college or adult ensembles. Some tricky passages, for sure, but that is where the champagne comes in!
Level = Intermediate/Advanced
AMB130 Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite
$85
For years I have received requests asking me to arrange the Nutcracker Suite for clarinet choir. Honestly, I struggled with this for a long time. Do I transpose the keys from the original? Do I include the harp cadenza in the Waltz? Do I dumb down some of the hard passages? Well, this is all original keys. I wrote a pretty ridiculous harp cadenza that would require an enormous amount of rehearsal time to coordinate and scrapped it. Some passages are really hard because some of the keys are not the most comfortable, but I actually sat down and played through them myself. It is hard when you are playing something written for A clarinet and have it transposed for Bb. I played this ballet many times with the glorious New York City Ballet Orchestra. These pieces just don’t sound right in other keys. So, woodshedding and deep breaths will be required by conductors and players alike. Be brave, take risks and bow down to Tchaikovsky for writing such beautiful music as this. Ho-ho-ho!
This set comes with eight movements: Overture miniature, Children’s March, Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy, Trepak (this one is very hard for Bb clarinet, but the original for clarinet in A is not exactly a walk in the park either), Arabian Dance, Chinese Dance, Dance of the Merlitons, Waltz of the Flowers (again challenging for Bb clarinet)
Level = Intermediate/Advanced
AMB131 Wagner: Prelude to Lohengrin, Act III
$40
This will most certainly make your tongue tired. I recall playing the band version of this, I believe Lucien Cailliet’s transcription, as a high school kid. It was hard, there was a lot of tonguing and I LOVED IT! Having Bbs spot one another during the triplet tonguing passages is a great idea. Lovely little surprise wedding music at the very end.
Level = Advanced because of the tonguing
AMB301 Mascagni: Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
$15
This trio for three Bb clarinets is very sweet and approachable for your younger students. Clarinet 1 plays up to a High D above the staff.
Level = Easy
AMB302 Verdi: Prelude to la Traviata
$15
Clarinet 1 is a bit more advanced than the other two parts. At the half way point we have some tricky rhythms and a bit of tonguing. Otherwise a nice choice for your intermediate/beginner kids.
Level = Beginner/Intermediate
AMB401 Debussy: Arabesque for Quartet
$15
This and subsequent quartets were created by whittling down the choir versions you have seen and heard on this website.
Level = Intermediate
AMB402 Debussy: Girl with the Flaxen Hair
$15
Very familiar and beautiful to listen to. Satisfying to play. Nice parts for everyone. Short and sweet.
Level = Intermediate
AMB403 Glinka: Rusland and Ludmilla Overture for quartet
$25
This one is not easy. Not a lot of rests. A real endurance test and excellent way to open or close a quartet concert.
Level = Advanced
AMB404 Gounod: Funeral March of a Marionette
$15
Just like the choir version only fewer voices.
Level = Intermediate
AMB405 Mascagni: Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
$15
Clarinet 1 has some high notes, but all manageable. Opera! Not much better than this.
Level = Beginner
AMB406 Verdi: Prelude to la Traviata
$15
Another operatic beauty. Introduction has a lot of high notes and will be good for working on tuning and balance. Simple and gorgeous. VERDI!!
Level = Beginner-Intermediate
AMB407 J Strauss: Overture to The Gypsy Baron
$25
A long time audition piece for aspiring conductors, this delightful overture has lots of charming moments from waltzes to polkas. This will also provide your brave first clarinet section to play that awkward solo passage that appeared on many an audition.
Level = Advanced