O Canada: Percussion Ensemble Score & Parts

David Marlatt's arrangement honors the melody's dignity while making it genuinely playable for percussion ensembles of varying sizes. The featured two-bells duet gives advanced players a chance to shine while timpani and non-pitched percussion provide harmonic and rhythmic grounding, so directors can scale the piece up or down based on their ensemble's strength.

Lavallée's melody carries a stately, reflective quality that Marlatt's orchestration preserves. The bells deliver the anthem's characteristic rising phrases with clarity, while supporting percussion adds warmth and resonance that prevents the piece from feeling thin or overly delicate.

This arrangement works for percussion ensembles at the easy level, from middle school groups building foundational ensemble skills to high school programs seeking accessible patriotic or ceremonial repertoire. Directors can start with just the bells parts and layer in other instruments as comfort grows, making it flexible for mixed ability sections.

• Balance the two bells parts so they weave in and out of dialogue rather than compete; the melody should sing even when shared between instruments.
• Let the non-pitched percussion (triangle, suspended cymbal, bass drum) breathe where rests occur; these spaces matter as much as the notes.
• If performing as a bells solo, shape phrases with dynamic contour that matches the anthem's ceremonial weight; avoid a metronomic, stiff quality.
• Rehearse the timpani entry points carefully so they anchor the harmony without overpowering the bells melody.

This works beautifully for patriotic or ceremonial moments—opening a concert, marking a school assembly, or rounding out a spring performance. It also pairs well on a program with other folk-song arrangements for percussion, giving young ensembles a piece with cultural weight that still sits comfortably within their technical range.

• Balancing multiple melodic lines across different instruments
• Sustaining tone and musical shape on timpani and mallets
• Rhythmic precision in supporting parts (non-pitched percussion coordination)
• Ensemble listening and dynamic shaping in a ceremony or processional context
• Reading score relationships between parts at the easy level