Promenade (Walking the Dog) [Solo Flute and Flute Choir]

Pan - Journal of the British Flute Society

This review first appeared in Pan, the journal of the British Flute Society and is reproduced with permission. Join the BFS: membership starts from £20 a year.

This is a lighthearted piece by Gershwin, which is enormously catchy and great fun to play.  Arranged for solo piccolo or G treble with 3 flutes, alto and bass, the majority of the choir takes on an accompaniment role, with melodic interjections spread out between the ensemble.  Orriss is an accomplished arranger, and as a result the scoring is well balanced and idiomatic throughout.  This is a relatively easy arrangement which is likely to have a wide appeal.

Carla Rees

From the Publisher

Gershwin's quirky little piece was originally written as incidental music for the film "Shall We Dance" starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; it accompanied a sequence featuring a variety of glamorous dogs being walked on a luxury liner. The outer sections feature a cheeky flute solo with the accompanying flutes striding out jauntily underneath. In the middle section a more lyrical melody is passed around the choir. If you are looking for a tune to whistle whilst walking your pooches, this is the very thing!

Performance duration (approx): 2'34

Item Details

Instrumentation

• Part 1: Solo Flute
• Part 2: Flute
• Part 3: Flute
• Part 4: Flute
• Part 5: Flute
• Part 6: Alto Flute
• Part 7: Bass Flute