6-piece arrangements of selections from HMS Pinafore

These selections are suitable for concert performances. For selected pieces from HMS Pinafore, arrangements for flute, clarinet, percussion, cello, piano, and several additional instrumental voices to be played on a synthesizer. Fee includes score and parts as described below, plus performance rights. More details

No. 2, I'm called Little Buttercup

Contralto solo for Little Buttercup.

Nos. 6 through 9: Over the bright blue sea, Sir Joseph's barge, Now give three cheers, and When I was a lad

Sequence featuring women's chorus, men's chorus, full chorus, brief solos for Captain Corcoran (baritone) and Cousin Hebe (mezzo-soprano), and extended solos for Sir Joseph Porter (baritone). The sequence includes an impressive (and challenging) double chorus.

No. 13, Fair moon

Baritone solo for Captain Corcoran.

6-piece arrangements of selections from Pirates of Penzance

These selections are suitable for concert performances. For selected pieces from Pirates of Penzance, arrangements for flute, clarinet, percussion, cello, piano, and several additional instrumental voices to be played on a synthesizer. Fee includes score and parts as described below, plus performance rights. More details

No. 1, Pour, O pour the pirate sherry

Men's chorus with solos for Samuel (baritone).

No. 3, Oh, better far

Bass-baritone solo for Pirate King, accompanied by men's chorus.

Nos. 7 and 8, Oh is there not one maiden breast and Poor wand'ring one

Sequence featuring solos for Frederic (tenor) and Mabel (soprano), both accompanied by women's chorus.

Selection from No. 14, Act I finale: Hail, Poetry

Choral ode for full chorus.

In the opera, this passage is sung a capella. This arrangement doubles the vocal lines in the instruments, enhancing security for the singers and giving a fuller sound. This arrangement lends itself to an audience singalong.

There is no synthesizer part in this arrangement.

No. 24, When a felon's not engaged

Bass solo for Sergeant of Police, accompanied by men's chorus.

Sullivan's original orchestration calls for strings only. This arrangement adds instrumental parts to the piano for a fuller sound, and to increase the security of the choral responses.

There is no synthesizer part in this arrangement.

6-piece arrangements of selections from The Mikado

These selections are suitable for concert performances. For selected pieces from The Mikado, arrangements for flute, clarinet, percussion, cello, piano, and several additional instrumental voices to be played on a synthesizer. Fee includes score and parts as described below, plus performance rights. More details

No. 2, A wand'ring minstrel I

Tour de force tenor solo for Nanki-Poo, accompanied by men's chorus.

No. 5A, As someday it may happen

Patter-baritone solo for Ko-Ko, accompanied by men's chorus.

No. 7, Three little maids

Trio for Yum-Yum (soprano), Peep-Bo (soprano), and Pitti-Sing (mezzo-soprano), optionally accompanied by women's chorus.

No. 22, Tit-willow

Baritone solo for Ko-Ko.

Notes on my 6-piece arrangements of Sullivan's works

These arrangements are based on the following principles:

• Many smaller productions of the Savoy operas, such as those of community and school groups, can't use Sullivan's full orchestral forces for various reasons, but would prefer something grander than piano alone.
• The most important and characteristic aspect of Sullivan's orchestration is his woodwind writing.
• Sullivan's use of percussion adds texture and drama (to an otherwise bald and unconvincing ensemble?)
• The judicious addition of today's better synthesizer technology to live instruments can deepen musical textures, fill out harmonies, and provide a variety of fairly convincing instrumental sounds.
• For singers accustomed to rehearsing with piano, the substitution of piano for strings in performance adds security.

The arrangements are based on Sullivan's original orchestration, as presented in the Kalmus editions of full scores and sets of parts.

• My flute part is generally Sullivan's first flute part, plus selected florid passages from Sullivan's first violin part.
• When the clarinet plays along with the flute, my clarinet part is sometimes a third lower, sometimes an octave, sometimes a tenth.
• My percussion part is identical with Sullivan's, except for some editorial decisions.
• My cello part contains elements of Sullivan's cello and bass parts, plus occasional viola and low violin lines. Held notes on the cello (and on synthesized strings) give a sustained effect that a piano can't achieve. The cello part, selectively simplified, could be played on a double bass, and the depth of that instrument might be advisable in a larger hall.
• My piano part is supplied in the form of instructions for marking up the Kalmus edition of the piano/vocal score. The pianist is instructed to omit passages that are to be played by solo instruments. Some such passages are marked "optional", to be played on piano only if they can be coordinated with the other instruments cleanly, and without drowning out the singers. The markup instructions also include rehearsal letters to match the parts.
• My synthesizer part calls for French horn, trumpet/trombone, clarinet, oboe/bassoon, and string section. This part is designed to be played by the conductor, and was performance-tested that way, or it could be played by a dedicated player. It could theoretically be played by one or more musicians doubling on the live instruments, but the part occasionally calls for chords.

To allow the conductor to play the synthesizer, its part is formatted into the full (conductor's) score. If your production will be using a dedicated synth player, specify that you'll need two copies of this score. To reduce page-turns, the full score does not contain the piano part.

Some pieces originally scored for strings alone were rescored for a fuller sound. All such cases are clearly marked.

Compared with the same instruments' parts in Sullivan's orchestration, these parts are somewhat more technically challenging. They call for more playing, more jumping between high and low registers, and more exposed playing.

Unless ordered otherwise, the full (conductor's) score is provided three-hole-punched, and the parts are provided GBC ("comb") -bound.

These arrangements are copyrighted and are subject to performance royalty. Each production must seek its own permission to perform these arrangements, and must make its own royalty payment; mere possession of the score and parts does not constitute permission to perform the arrangements. Please note that performance rights are separate from recording rights and broadcast rights, and that permission to perform these arrangements does not constitute permission to record or to broadcast them.

In the spirit of the Fair Use Doctrine, permission is hereby granted to make additional copies of the score and parts as a particular royalty-paying production requires them.