Three Susato Dances: 5 Trumpets Score & Parts

David Marlatt's arrangement captures everything that makes Renaissance dances valuable for brass ensembles: the need for articulation consensus, dynamic control, and stylistic unity across five voices. The optional percussion part offers a genuine sonic enhancement rather than window dressing, giving directors a tool to shape rehearsal intensity and performance impact.

These dances pulse with Renaissance dignity and rhythmic clarity. You'll experience the joy of clean ensemble articulation, the thrill of a well-executed forte that lands together, and the discipline required to play a simple line with style and intention rather than technical flash.

Intermediate trumpet ensembles seeking material that balances musical substance with ensemble-building challenges. This arrangement works for high school quintets, community brass groups, and college-level players building foundational collaboration skills.

• Establish articulation patterns early in rehearsals. Record yourselves playing just the opening of each dance with matched tonguing, then compare the recording to your mental ideal. Small adjustments compound across the ensemble.
• Shape the dynamic contrasts as architectural features, not accidents. The brilliant fortes need space to land; support them by bringing the lyrical passages down to a genuinely soft dynamic.
• Use the optional percussion strategically during rehearsals to anchor rhythmic precision before removing it, then decide based on venue acoustics and your ensemble's comfort level whether to include it in performance.
• Listen to Renaissance recorder ensembles perform these original dances to absorb the stylistic expectation. The articulation and phrasing translate directly to brass but require active study to avoid sounding modern.

Program this as part of a concert that traces instrumental music across centuries, pairing it with a Baroque trio sonata or a modern work that also demands stylistic ensemble awareness. The dances work equally well as a festival or contest entry that demonstrates your group's maturity and attention to detail rather than technical difficulty.

• Matched articulation and tonguing across five independent lines
• Dynamic contrast and shaping within a Renaissance aesthetic
• Rhythmic ensemble precision without rubato
• Balancing individual voice clarity with collective sound
• Historical style awareness and period-appropriate interpretation