‘S mo lamh air a stiuir

Writing these arrangements, Frank Reinshagen has created little masterpieces, which broaden the rhythmical and harmonic context of the original tunes in an interesting manner without detracting from their archaic and melancholic character. These original tunes have been borrowed from the Irish, Scottish, and Gaelic musical tradition. These through-composed arrangements are rather easy to perform from the rhythmical and technical point of view, yet they are quite demanding in respect of the key they are written in, their intonation and, especially, their interpretation. Their different instrumentations are fully compatible with each other and, due to their overall structure, they are also suitable to be played with multi-scored parts. The interpretation of “‘S mo lamh air a stiuir”—the song of a helmsman living on the Isle of Skye—should be interpreted with the musicians paying careful attention to its dynamics and phrasing, which reflect the up-and-down motion of the stormy Artic Ocean. For this arrangement the key D minor—which is one whole tone lower than the original—has been chosen to make sure that the piece is playable, especially for a clarinet quartet.