Fiddle Like the Dickens!: String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

McCarrick's arrangement captures the festive, rollicking energy that Dickens evoked in his original description, using three solo fiddlers to anchor the traditional tunes while the full orchestra supports and accompanies. The medley structure gives your orchestra the chance to play recognizable, engaging material without the weight of a lengthy classical work, and the variety between slip jig, carol, hornpipe, and jig keeps both players and listeners attentive throughout.

The opening slip jig has the intimate, slightly mischievous quality of music played after a good dinner, and the piece never loses that conversational warmth even as it builds to boisterous finale. You'll hear the elegance of English fiddle tradition woven throughout, with enough rhythmic drive and orchestral color to keep the energy alive across all five tunes.

This is ideal for Grade 3 string orchestras that want to program holiday or winter concert material with genuine musical substance and character. It works equally well for orchestras seeking a fun, energetic non-holiday concert piece that showcases both soloists and ensemble.

• Encourage your three featured fiddlers (2 violins and viola) to lean into the rhythmic bounce of the slip jig and hornpipe; these aren't played with classical evenness but with the slight lift and swing that makes fiddle music dance.
• Balance the solo voices so they cut through the ensemble without requiring them to play unnaturally loud; good string section control from your back desks matters as much as solo projection.
• Mark the tempo transitions clearly in rehearsal, especially where "The Rights of Man" joins "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." The shift should feel organic, not jarring.
• The finale builds to real excitement; shape the dynamic arc so that your youngest or least experienced players in the tutti sections understand they're driving the energy forward alongside the soloists.

Program this on a winter or holiday concert where you want something that feels celebratory without being heavy; it pairs naturally with a longer classical work or as a concert opener that settles your audience into a festive mood. It also works beautifully as a spring concert encore or as part of a "music of the English-speaking world" programming theme.

• Playing articulated rhythmic figures in jig and hornpipe meters
• Accompanying and balancing around featured solo voices
• Maintaining rhythmic lift and swing in folk-style music
• Navigating key relationships and medley transitions
• Ensemble control at varying dynamic levels and tempos