Air & Rigaudon: Concert Band Conductor Score

Victor López's arrangement captures the essence of Grieg's melodic gift without requiring advanced technical facility from your ensemble. The "Air" provides a genuinely moving moment for the audience, while the "Rigaudon" brings lightness and character to close out either a full Holberg suite performance or a standalone concert program. At Grade 3, this feels achievable and dignified rather than watered down.

The "Air" unfolds with tenderness and restraint, full of the quiet beauty that defines Grieg's melodic voice. The "Rigaudon" dances with courtly charm and wit, offering a complete tonal and emotional contrast that keeps listeners engaged.

Directors working with solid Grade 3 concert bands who want to program Grieg without requiring exceptional technical skill. This arrangement serves ensembles seeking repertoire that sounds more advanced than it plays and rewards both younger and community bands with genuine musical substance.

• Shape the legato phrases in "Air" with subtle dynamic swells; resist over-phrasing and let the melody breathe naturally through longer lines.
• Balance the accompaniment voices carefully in "Air" so inner harmonies don't obscure the principal melodic line carried across your ensemble.
• Bring clear articulation and rhythmic precision to "Rigaudon" to capture its baroque dance character; the playfulness depends on crisp, unified attacks.
• Give yourself adequate rehearsal time for the transitions between movements if performing the complete suite, as style and tempo shift significantly.

Program these two movements as a standalone concert suite, or invest the time to learn all five movements of the Holberg Suite and present Grieg's complete statement. This pairing works well on a concert that mixes Romantic orchestral literature with contemporary or lighter works, as both pieces read clearly and carry themselves without demanding a heavy surrounding program.

• Sustaining legato phrasing across phrase boundaries
• Balancing accompanying voices against a principal melody
• Understanding Baroque dance forms and their characteristic rhythmic profiles
• Executing style-specific articulation (lyrical legato versus baroque articulation)
• Reading and responding to conductor direction for expressive dynamic shaping