Recently I was asked to make an arrangement of Amazing Grace for Lisa Ochoco in Portland, USA, for her flute quartet.

This proved successful, so I thought I’d make another arrangement, this time for wind quintet, as this is always a popular medium, and the addition of the 5th part does give more scope in the harmony and arrangement. I have largely kept to the original setting, which Lisa wanted to have a ’Latin’ feel, rahter than the usual 3/4 metre, but I have altered the initial key, as well as the key change for the final verse, as this seems more effective on instruments with essentially a far wider range than four flutes.

I have dedicated the arrangement to ’Treblos Wind Quintet’, a group of five young players still at their respective London music colleges, or just about to leave, and whom I first met here in Plymouth in April, 2010, when they formed part of the Arnold Camerata, who presented a three-night ’Essentially English Chamber Music Festival’.

I hope they might find this a less taxing, and lighter diversion!

I have now included an optional Piano part. Normally this kind of instrumental ensemble is self-sufficient, but the piano part may be of use, either when one or more instruments are unavailable, or perhaps in performance, should a more ’concertante’ effect be desired, and an instrument is readily available.

Please note that each Piano part is suitable ONLY for the particular instrumental version it is included with. Each arrangement varies subtly, in key, modulation, and occasional harmony or figuration and, as such, is neither interchangeable, nor self-sufficient on its own.

It is assumed that, whichever instrument(s) might be missing, the lead is always present.

N.B. In the present economic climate, a good number of smaller ensembles understandably buy just the set of parts as, in reality, these alone are all that is needed in performance. Equally, a similar number buy both the parts and the full score. To compensate for this, I intend to reduce the cost of the full score by $4, and increase the price of the lead part by $3, a differential that wasn’t available to sellers at the former SibeliusMusic.com.