Written in 1963 for the annual conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) and published by Maecenas Music, Gilmore's Five Folk Songs for Soprano and Band has enjoyed countless performances nationwide and internationally.
It has been commercially recorded by the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony, conducted by Eugene Corporon.
In 2007, it was performed by the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Wind Ensemble, both on the SIUC campus and at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Christopher Morehouse.
[1] The work was also arranged for soprano and orchestra and performed in San Diego in 2008 under the direction of David Amos.
This polyglot amalgam actually has roots in the Medieval era when composers would sometimes combine texts of two or more languages in the same motet.
[2] But the use of a multilingual text did not find its way into the mainstream of 19th or 20th century music, and it certainly imbues the Five Folk Songs with a maverick spirit.
The bouncy opening Irish tune, "Mrs. McGrath," is an ironic commentary on the horrors of war, embellished with a pentatonic flavor.
"Yerakina" suggests a traditional Greek dance through the usage of slow, rhythmic ostinato and tonic pedal.
"El Burro" depicts the tragic death of an animal important to a village through a mournful and processional dirge.
The final movement, "A Fidler," Gilmore's work is a humorous and playful Yiddish tune depicting a young musician's first violin lesson and his mother's dream of him becoming a great virtuoso.
According to the program notes in the conductor's score, "it was inspired by folk recordings of Theodore Bikel and groups like The Limelighters."
[5] Rarely are all musicians performing at once, yet there is sufficient variety of dynamics and textures to create interest.
The light construction of the piece allows for the use of solos to emulate a character rarely heard in traditional wind band music.
For example, the 2nd Movement features a nearly two-minute long improvisatory cadenza for clarinet alone which lends a nostalgic quality.
[6] The soprano sings each folk song in its vernacular language, as notated in the published score.