Best-loved American Folksongs for string quartet or string orchestra - Volume 2 by Various String Quartet - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.773267

I wish you the greatest pleasure playing these arrangements of traditional American folksongs. I have playedthese with my quartet at weddings, parties, in bars, in retirement homes, and in my living room just for the fun of it.

Amazing Grace: Written by reprobate sailor John Newton in 1779. Known for his profanity, vulgarity and venery, he was imprisoned, beaten, and enslaved, before he reformed, and became a leading minister and hymn-writer. This is one of the most popular hymns ever written.

She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain: An Afro-American spiritual, probably written in the 1800's, but first published in the 1930's. This remarkable song, about the second coming of Jesus Christ, is rich in comic yet moving lyrics: "She'll be wearing red pyjamas when she comes"; "We'll kill the old red rooster when she comes." Perhaps most remarkable is that this savior is a woman.

Down by the Riverside: This Afro-American gospel song predates the American Civil War. Its strong anti-war message ("I ain't gonna study war no more") made it a standard during the period of the civil rights movement and among the protesters against the Vietnam war in the 1960's and 1970's.

Turkey in the Straw: A classic country fiddle tune dating from the early 1800's. Legend has it that the band on the Titanic played Turkey in the Straw as the ship went down.

Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child: This Afro-American spiritual from the days of slavery is one of the most heartfelt, tragic melodies I have ever heard. It became a blues standard, sung by every great blues artist ever: Odetta, Mahalia Jackson, Louis Armstrong, Paul Robeson, Marian Andersen – and endless more.

I hope you enjoy playing this as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you enjoy this, you are welcome to try some of my other arrangements. You can see them by clicking here ), I have also arranged three songs from the Holocaust, which I arranged and distribute for free on IMSLP. You can find them at imslp.org/wiki/Category:Ravpapa. If you need arrangements of any of these songs for special combinations of instruments, feel free to contact me at [email protected], and I will try to accommodate