After opera’s decline of popularity in England during the 1730’s, Handel switched to writing oratorios. These were lengthy choral works without operatic staging or scenery, his most famous of these being Messiah. Another such work, Solomon, brings us the Entrance of the Queen of Sheba.
Written for mallet ensemble and two flutes, Entrance of the Queen of Sheba allows the musicians to demonstrate how well Baroque music adapts to percussion instruments. In an age where contemporary music sometimes dominates percussion concerts, this will provide a nice contrast that not only highlights the beauty of Handel’s music, but welcomes the addition of woodwinds into the mix.
This arrangement of Entrance of the Queen of Sheba has been heard worldwide on the popular CD "Bach on Wood," which helped garner Brian Slawson a Grammy nomination for “Best New Classical Artist.”
This piece comes with a full, bound score and includes a CD-Rom containing an audio recording and all individual parts available for printing.
Recording courtesy of Belltone Records.
Queen of Sheba Reviews
Jim Lambert
Reviewed in Percussive Notes July 2010
“Scored for two flutes, two glockenspiels, and four marimbas, this arrangement of Handel’s Act III “Symphonia” from his oratorio “Solomon” possesses a dignified stylistic quality with the marimba quartet providing the tonal stability to this two-minute and 30-second composition. The meter is 4/4 throughout this 62-measure composition, with a tempo marking of 108 bpm. A B-flat major tonality highlights the special presentation of two flautists whose musical presence is tastefully sparse.
This composition would be a delightful diversion for the undergraduate college percussion ensemble concert. Only two-mallet technique is required of the keyboard percussionists.”
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Instrumentation
Two flutes, two glockenspiels, two small marimbas (4-octave), one 4.3 octave marimba (low-A), one 5-octave marimba (low C)*.
*NOTE: If four marimbas aren’t available these parts can be performed by sharing two marimbas (one low-A, and one low-C).
