Three Movements (from Water Music): 6 Clarinets Score & Parts

David Marlatt's arrangement cracks open one of music history's most recognizable works for a medium-level clarinet choir, making Baroque sophistication accessible without sacrificing its character. The three-choir texture keeps all six players genuinely engaged rather than defaulting to a handful of lead parts, and the material sits beautifully on clarinet across the range. This is a piece that teaches style and phrasing while remaining genuinely fun to rehearse and perform.

Water Music radiates courtly elegance and forward motion. Even in this six-clarinet setting, you feel the pageantry of that Thames procession: rhythmic confidence, lyrical breadth, and a sense that something important is happening. The writing sparkles without ever becoming frivolous.

This arrangement serves clarinet choirs and large woodwind ensembles at the medium level who want to tackle a work of genuine historical consequence without getting bogged down in extreme technical demands. It's equally suited for concert programming, festival competition, or as a full-group rehearsal that reminds everyone why Handel mattered.

• Balance the three choirs as distinct sonic blocks rather than blending them into one mass of sound. Each pair of clarinets should have a clear voice in the texture.
• Shape the melodic lines with Baroque sensibility: lean into the strong beats, taper toward the weak ones, and let the natural phrasing of Handel's melodies guide your breathing and articulation.
• Attack the rhythmic figures cleanly and with precision. Baroque music rewards clarity over warmth; make every note's start and stop matter.
• Use the full dynamic range available to you. Even at a medium difficulty level, Handel's writing includes genuine contrasts between sections that demand commitment to shape.

Feature this as a mainstay of your spring concert, pairing it with other Baroque arrangements or contrasting it with contemporary clarinet literature. The three movements give you enough substance for a meaningful program segment while remaining short enough to balance longer works elsewhere on the bill.

• Baroque articulation and phrasing conventions
• Maintaining independent melodic lines within larger ensemble texture
• Dynamic shaping and long-line thinking in repeated material
• Clarity and precision in rhythmic figures across a six-part texture
• Balancing blend with individual voice projection in a homogeneous ensemble