Für Elise Brass Ensemble - Digital Sheet Music

Mysteries surround this popular piece written originally for piano. Composed about 1810, it wasn’t until 1867, forty years after Beethoven died, that Ludwig Nohl found, transcribed and published "Für Elise." Alas, the original signed manuscript that Nohl discovered has since disappeared. One mystery of course, is Who was Elise? While scholarly guesses have identified several women who could or might have been Elise, there is still no definitive proof. Another mystery: Did Beethoven actually write this piece? The pianist and musicologist Luca Chiantore has suggested that the original Beethoven manuscript, upon which Ludwig Nohl claimed to base his transcription, may never have existed. On the other hand, there are two surviving preliminary sketches for "Für Elise" in Beethoven’s hand, and the British composer and musicologist Barry Cooper has pointed out that the rough draft closely resembles the published version. In this brass quintet version, Trumpet 1 and Trumpet 2 handle the melody-i.e., the right hand in the piano score-for much of the piece, both taking turns and playing together. Most of the time Tuba, Horn in F and Trombone do the honors for the left hand. Horn in F does, however, take the melody line occasionally, sometimes with Trumpet 2 playing a harmony line above. The score performance level is marked "Advanced," and with all the sixteenth notes, this arrangement may look difficult. But it’s really more "Intermediate," with the only really tricky parts coming in sections D and G. This arrangement was completed in 2014, and performance time runs about 3 minutes, 29 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge; contact him directly at [email protected]. For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus search box. (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at [email protected].)