Second Suite in F (Song Without Words) by Gustav Holst

[genericusernamething]

I made a piano arrangement of this recently... it's so gloriously beautiful ^^

[Dashneyman]

who in the name of god disliked this?

[zeldanerd13]

I played this solo on trumpet.  .__.

[SuperGwanny]

The Baritone and Tuba ending was messed up

[yellowgrl777]

chills!!!



[AllAboutMac27]

1st trumpet solo part!!

[notanignoramus]

IMHO, too much vibrato in the oboe solo.

[Massflavour]

@notanignoramus yea wayyy too much lol

[ehelwagen]

@notanignoramus

The tone is a bit nasal as well.

[RazgrizNinjaEX8]

Bass Clarinet~

One of the 3 in our band that had the note on 1... lawl...

[SilentHowlBrokenWing]

Breanna Ben and I play this in band and this is the first time we have gotten the real melody in forever. the whole song revolves areoud us! hahaha. hopefully we can play it in festival. Clarinets FTW

[thirteen2d]

I play the oboe and this part is easy! My only problem is really keeping the tone and hitting the notes

[dmirti1993]

@thirteen2d This used to be my favorite song to play while I played the oboe.

[eyesofphysics97]

oh god, playing this on the cello is awesome!!!!!!!! EEP!!!!!

[thatoneunkowng]

BASS CLARINET!!!

[TheJaredtheJaredlong]

I wish someone would post the lyrics

[TheJaredtheJaredlong]

I wish someone would post the lyrics

[FunkkyPanda]

I'm like mixed between who should play the solo because I play clarinet and oboe lol

[perrone2910]

u mean the title of the song should be

Men Without Pants ( Fuck me Tender)



[Kenleypolanco96]

i was like the entire beggining of this song for my band....bass clarinet ftw

[PrincessKeo12000]

@Kenleypolanco96 i played it in my band and i was the solo bass clarinet =D I LOVE THIS SONG!!

[Chess13623]

I played the oboe solo on clarinet last year for my high schools wind ensemble! Beautiful song!

[looney1023]

Our marching band played this, only instead of an oboe solo, it was a trombone solo soon joined by a trumpet solo, and it only lasted for one playthrough of the melody.

[moonbeast32]

I only play four notes in this song

[HannahLynnLove]

Coincidence that a guy I like a lot plays the clarinet solo for a song about love? I THINK NOT.

[HannahLynnLove]

I personally fucking love the clarinet solo more. Maybe I'm biased because I play the clarinet, or that I don't like the oboe that much ;)

this is my favorite piece i've ever played. damn it's so gooooooddd. I think God helped write it or something!

[shortyisakilla14]

played this last year in wind ensemble<3 absolutely love this:)

[BlairStrachan]

im learning this in my concert band at college and the clarinet sounds alot better for this solo!

[Shellewell]

@BlairStrachan Stevenson College? XD (long haired trumpet player, i have had this stuck in my head all day)

[TheBurgServer]

Poor 2nd cornets...................

[lifeequalscheer]

gorgeous



[TheVladkat]

This song is originally a folk song, most of which are sung with an incredibly straight tone. The clarinet better reflects this straight tone than the vibrato, however beautiful it may be, of the oboe

[R0ck3tM0nsT3R]

and here's the 3rd f. horn in wind ensemble that would just sit there for a few minutes until we moved on to a different song or movement. XD but great piece.

[BlondieSingsTheBlues]

i have the clarinet solo for this during wind ensemble, great suite!!! :)

[TheBirdgirl123]

i play the clarinet and i have to play the melody it is very haunting and beautiful<3

[filliam63]

French Horn 1 and 2 have whole notes on this song. 3 and 4 dont have any notes at all in this song. We french horns are not loved.

[24laxrox]

@filliam63 but we get the melody in the 3rd mvt

[Treggorz]

where did you find this music?

[z2d2]

Abroad as I was walking, one evening in the spring, I heard a maid in Bedlam so sweetly for to sing; Her chains she rattled with her hands, and thus repli-ed she: "I love my love because I know my love loves me! O cruel were his parents who sent my love to sea, And cruel was the ship that bore my love from me; Yet I love his parents since they're his although they've ruined me: I love my love because I know my love loves me!

[Vlad1831]

@z2d2 i like ur poem or short story you wrote

[katiemarie934]

I play clarinet and when we played this in my high school band, I had the solo

[katiemarie934]

@katiemarie934 It might be though that we didn't have decent oboes!

[chocchipcookiegirl]

2 dislikes are probably from oboe players who couldn't play this :p

[DoubleT142]

EWWWW BOOO OLDIE MUSIC EWWWWW

THROW UPPP

[aslvln3]

2 people don't know what real music is.

[damonXluver]

We played this in honor of our band directors second cousin who had died, it took everything for the patents of the little boy not to cry, btw I played bass clarinet in this, beautiful

[beeluvsya]

my favorite thing to play on oboe <3

[moford1029]

So beautiful... I love this song! We did it for our concertband this past spring at our concert.. It made me cry the first time I heard it lol

[FunkkyPanda]

This song just makes happy and remember why I switched from Clarinet to Oboe <3

[TheRotzweiler]

I wish this were longer :-(

[mrkingband]

oops- just read all the other comments for this video and apparently it's already been noted haha

[kirby163]

I didn't have a part in this one, but I liked listening to it.

[sweetness902101209]

played this song at wonderland. we were awesome(obviously)

[daniandgaby]

I'm playing the Oboe solo for my highschool concert tonight!! :D I'm suuper excited, wish me luck! :D

[Jeshii117]

This is so beautiful! <3 The oboe is gorgeous...too bad I got stuck on tenor sax for it because nobody else would step up and do it. D':

[splitbabes23]

Helz no, Alto sax is the best <3

[DemonOfLaziness]

Why does this sound so much like one of Nobuo Uematsu's works?

[Maryloohoo2]

Holst's most beautiful and lyrical music, only a band can play this right.

[QddpprrQ]

I love how every part of the background meshes into one another. I really can't hear it while I'm playing (I play second trombone), but listening to the recording I can really hear it. This is such a beautiful song.

[siLveRscOpe13x]

When our band played this, we had no oboe players. So they put me on oboe and I had to learn it in 3 weeks. xD It wasn't the most amazing performance, but it got us a sweepstakes!

[hannahbanana98765432]

This is so beautiful and definitely my favorite of all the concert songs!

Congrats, guys...we did it!

[RAMBO10366]

woa this gave me goosebumps

[triciaslipknot]

our band can play this prestine, that is until the 3rd clarinets come in with the 8th notes and rush. LEARN TO COUNT!

[TheIrishBasturd12]

this song is beautiful i mean its a little boring on tenor sex but i love hearing it when we play it. we perform 2maro im so excited !

[TheIrishBasturd12]

this song is beautiful i mean its a little boring on tenor sex but i love hearing it when we play it. we perform 2maro im so excited !

[TheZipding]

I played this at a music festival with sax quartet at roughly the same speed as this, and it was too slow. It is really beautiful when played at a tempo similar to this.

[pkagan2]

Clarinet vs. Oboe

My score introduction indicates that "it is not clear from the manuscript whether Holst intended the solo at the beginning of that movement to be played by oboe or clarinet, or both."

To me the decision shouldn't be set in stone. I think because it is unknown, the performance practice should be determined by the needs of the ensemble and the players in the ensemble. In a band, I would have both musicians learn the part (both as a solo and duet) and choose whatever fits best.

[oboelover13]

Oh, I totally agree. If an oboist is more experienced and has the right tone quailty over the clarinet, then the oboe should play it. and if the clarinet better suits the solo, the clarient should most definitely play it.

[NataliaMusicLove]

@oboelover13 lol oboelover?? Oboes rule :P 

[oboelover13]

@NataliaMusicLove That's right, NataliaMusicLove :P

[ABSOLxARIES]

one person has a trumpet up their butt, who could dislike this??? D:

[hhollis1]

I believe the flowing 8th notes in the background are the different voices and chattering of the people in bedlam. After the all, the original poem says that she is in a bedlam, and if you think about, the speaker is saying the melody, and while she does this, the other people in the bedlam with her are making noises.

[wooooosaw]

french horns have a tacet on this whole movement so in our band they called this the "song without notes"

[BigPappaDL]

Beautiful song! It's so much more amazing when you are actually playing it though.

[SaRcAsM2130]

i love the sax solo at the end even tho its short i love playing it

[Geekboy242424]

It's a wonderful song... Too bad us bari saxes are completely tacet throughout the piece.

[roselinabonnie1997]

It's a beautiful song and I love playing it even though all the other people in the group I play in hate it.

[ABearMusic]

its not an oboe or clarinet you numbnuts, its a soprano sax

[adellerodger]

@ABearMusic

no its and oboe and 1st clarinet duet. theyre supposed to be communicating to each other and feeding off their energy. I played this song as the first clarinet. Atleast this is the version with both oboe and 1st clarinet

[recessiondrug]

The clarinet has a much more appropriate tone for this piece. Consider the text and the underlying emotion- to me, the clarinet has more longing; a darker tone. The oboe does not suit this solo, in my opinion. I much prefer the clarinet.

[LindsayPoyser]

It all depends which version you have. My teacher had the old and the new version, and when she handed out the pieces, I, the oboe player, got the old version, which had the oboe solo in the second movement. However, in the newer version, the first clarinet gets this solo. I had to give up my solo, because more of the band had the newer version.

[bbjornst07]

@LindsayPoyser 100% correct. I was recently faced with the exact same situation. Excellent. Thank you for confirming that. :)

[Risibly]

I'm glad to see something like this have no dislikes.

I hope I didn't just jinx that...

[MidnightThrenody]

I cannot help but be amazed at the sheer difficulty of arranging something as moving as this piece. The layering and overlapping of the instruments creates a stunningly smooth play all the way through, no noticeable breathing marks. We are also playing the whole suite in band. The arrangement that we are playing seems to neglect the oboe solo, which is unfortunate. I play the oboe and am very glad many of you enjoy the unique sound it produces. :)

[inulover565]

im ina middle school wind ensamble and we are playing this :) i have to say i like it better with clarinet and flute as the melody, it sounds more romantic,the oboe makes it sound more majestic than depressing and romantic, and i personally have never really liked the sound of the oboe,im glad my band dosnt have oneanymore (no offence oboe players,ur great musicians,i've heard its one of the hardest instruments to play)

[xJustinBieber1]

FAVORITE SONG IN BAND OMFGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG<333333333 me & my friend play the flute, but we play oboe in this song:DD

[JakeDude500]

Personally, i think the solo should be on clarinet, as it's much warmer and less reedy sounding when opposed to the oboe. However, I do think it's very interesting to hear it on the oboe, very otherworldly if that makes any sense. In any case, wonderful movement of a great song, kudos to all who played this recording.

[CrazyCanadienne]

@JakeDude500 in our senior band we had a clarinet and a flute share the solo... though we did this a lot because we didn't have an oboe player. we did it in the second movement of Vaughan Williams English Folk Song Suite as well but rather than cover the oboe player, we covered the trumpet player who was rediculously out of tune.

[SuperCoolbeans13]

@JakeDude500 I have to disagree with your comment that the clarinet is warmer and better suited for this song. The oboe's tone is very melancholic and when played right is perfectly suited for this song. However, I do think that the oboist playing in this recording is not the best. Their use of vibrato is over the top and could be used much more tastefully.

[JakeDude500]

@SuperCoolbeans13 I think both ways have their majesties about them. To my ear, it just sounds a little odd amongst the smoother instruments. However, perhaps you're right on the recording bit. Maybe if the vibrato were cut a little, it would flow better with the song.

[FunkkyPanda]

If your director has the Fenell version, then this movement is meant for an oboe solo x3

[oboelover13]

this song is 100% meant to be played on the oboe.

I am in love.

[ehelwagen]

@oboelover13 I agree with you!

[mrkingband]

@oboelover13 I agree that it's beautiful for oboe- although it seems from original manuscripts that Holst's original intention may have been a clarinet solo at the beginning, with oboe not joining until measure 11...we're really not sure exactly what he wanted. At least one newer edition of this piece has it written as a clarinet solo only... but it's a great oboe solo :)

[mrkingband]

@oboelover13 I agree that it's beautiful for oboe- although it seems from original manuscripts that Holst's original intention may have been a clarinet solo at the beginning, with oboe not joining until measure 11...we're really not sure exactly what he wanted. At least one newer edition of this piece has it written as a clarinet solo only... but it's a great oboe solo :)

[austinjb555]

@oboelover13 NOBOE!

[NickRobo1994]

@oboelover13 too much vibrato in this version though.

[SuperCoolbeans13]

@NickRobo1994 Absolutely agree. I think I commented on that before. 

[TheZipding]

Something that confused me for a bit was that this is the Second Suite in F, meaning that all the songs should be in F concert, which this song is not. Then I noticed that it is in f minor concert.

[CharlieBladeRemus]

@TheZipding Just because the title of a suite (or symphony or concerto) says a certain key, that doesn't necessarily mean ALL the movements should be in that particular key. I think as long as the first and last movements of a multi-movement piece like this are in the same key, its title is appropriate.

Trust me, it was off-putting to me at first too (lol)

[TheMartini1234]

We play it in orchestra. The first violin part sounds horrible, all our good violinists left last year except for one :(

[TheZipding]

In the arraingement I'm currently playing is for a saxophone quartet. The alto gets the solo, and it is a really good solo.

[zEquilibrium]

the trumpet soloist was sick today in practice, so i got to play it, OMG YES!

[125poundwrestler]

i wish i had a solo in this. it's so beautiful

[link0867]

Just got done playing this (well resting during this) at my District Band concert... love listening to it (since there is no percussion part)

[inulover565]

@link0867 haha ya, we are still practicing this for the concert in my band and the percussionists are all like "we've been working so hard on this song,its soooo hard"

[QueenKathryn456]

We are playing this in my 7th grade contest it's gona be pretty intnese i'm really excited I play flute :)

[iluvdehmusic]

I love this song(: I'm 2nd chair clarinet and it sucks sitting next to the soloist, but i get to play the Eb Clarinet cues, so I pretty much get a solo. :D

[cutiipye]

Kind of peculiar how the suggested videos on the side doesn't have the next movement, but rather skips to the 4th movement :P

[duhcornmaster]

there aren't words to describe how much i love this song... lol =D

[duhcornmaster]

thanks helped alot with my chair audition, love the solo this is possibly one of my favoritest songs ever =D

[killerjoe117]

I LOVE THIS SONG. Just wish the trombone part was just A LITTLE MORE INTERESTING. We have 18 measures of rest in the beginning (or something like that). It gets a little boring.

Still, GREAT SONG

[SpedunkTV]

@killerjoe117 Try playing percussion.

[xxxxkrisxxsiexxxx]

@SpedunkTV LOL

[MrKjkj8]

Beautiful.... Just Beautiful.

I love the piece very much.

Makes me want to cry. :(

[FunkkyPanda]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the oboe solo!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I REALLY WANT TO PLAY THIS AT THE END MY JUNIOR YEAR <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

[JessieOShea]

Ah. I played this song my senior year<3.

I got to play the solo with the trummpet:D

FLUTE!

[whitefia]

Love it, especially the trumpet solo, ;) might be biased cause i getta play it though,

[GeorgefromLeeds]

the oboe is the original solo in this piece. In my band we are doing it on oboe rather than clarinet.

[iOboe101]

Love this song. Especially since I get to solo in it. :)

[af2815]

Very nice tuba pedal b flat at the end, double pedal b flat for trombones lol, which is what I play.

[MGJ460]

Holy balls i am so glad we get to play this in Band.

[DemonOfLaziness]

@MGJ460 Haha, what a coincidence. Mr. Puterbaugh has us playing the same song at my highschool, and we all love the crap out of it.

[BxWxMx11]

@MGJ460 But it's epic!

[j3r0ch]

@MGJ460 balls are holy!



[kikasovergnty]

This is my favorite peice of this music tomorrow my band is going to play this and other song s ahh

[OuranHSstudent]

Wow, Holst continues to take my breath away with his amazing music. I remember playing this when I was in 9th grade and, loveing it so much.

[omgyoureaspy]

@OuranHSstudent Ouran HighSchool Hostclub

[TheCarperSisters]

The two highest rated comments are the nerdiest things I've ever heard. -.- FAIL

[DemonOfLaziness]

@TheCarperSisters COUGH COUGH SUPERFICIAL DOUCHEBAG COUGH

[lizzylizard586]

Ahh, I played oboe for the second suite. Wicked hard to keep in tune. But I loved it :)

[hihiemogrl]

my band played this song and i was lucky to not be 1st or second horn so i actually had a chance to heard it

simply amazing the way it seemed to travle across the band

[a13110449]

wow, i really love this movement of this AMAZING piece....

however, i reckoned my school band. with me in it, did it slightly differently as we have a clarinet playing the solo.... HMMMM

[nobody123r]

My school is performing this, and I am playing the solo on the oboe with the clarinet doubling- the second time, its an oboe and English horn.

[CharlieBladeRemus]

@nobody123r I don't remember seeing an English horn part to this song, LOL...unless your director wrote it out. I bet it sounded great though!

[Clarinetgenius12]

In all my performance experience, many times have I played this piece as the clarinet soloist and the oboe soloist...Its beautiful.

[kateee8974]

I've played this piece before and I'm playing it again in band this year! Unfortunately, our student teacher is conducting it so we're not playing the second movement. =(

[dragonyoshi]

@kateee8974 Why arent you playing it just because of the student conductor?

[Aleve909]

@dragonyoshi the timing in the Song Without Words is a little tricky, maybe that's why? who knows :p

[LSysyn15]

I'm lucky enough to play the oboe solo on clarinet... Which is pretty interesting... My absolute favorite movement of the suite... <3 <3 <3

[xxxxkrisxxsiexxxx]

im playing this song in skooll its sssooooooooo pppreeeettyyy

[bluewolf98]

ahhh, the final bars after the fermata...i shiver every time.

and to all the -confused- people watching this, it's written as an OBOE SOLO. clarinet is substituted as some bands don't contain an oboe player.

[maveric5]

@bluewolf98 That may be true but many arrangements have it written as a clarinet solo, and I believe that is where the confusion is coming from. Just my 2 cents :)

Absolutely gorgeous piece! so much emotion...

[icedteaspoon]

@bluewolf98 yeah, i was like, what clarinet solo? it's an oboe one. i shiver at the entire song. the story behind it is beautiful and the oboe solo is truly beautiful.

[RaiMidori]

@icedteaspoon What's the story behind it?

[swinglifeawayable]

@RaiMidori - if i don't remember this entirely correctly, forgive me. i think it is a woman, who's in love with this man, but she think's he dies, and she is being comforted with another person that she doesn't know, and telling this person all about the man she loved, and the mysterious person ends up actually being that man.

[Dancintrumpet21]

@swinglifeawayable the woman is in love with the man and he is sent away from her. it's a poem that she's singing to him.

[yoitzmonica]

i like the solo with the clarinet better. :]

[BillyTalentFan8]

@yoitzmonica So do I, even though I'm an oboe player. It's not the range that the oboe sounds best in.

[akatsuki1901]

love this song were doing it in marching band and sounds great

[feckmehhorsiieweirdo]

just got this solo today for bassoon.. i plan on rocking solo and ensemble! beautiful.. made me tired.. made wanna cry, made me happy... the mix emotions are nice. absolutly perfect.

[danny321321123]

i love this song. i played this in a brass group and i had the solo with trumpet. it was fun.

[ArtsyOddOne]

I've also heard this wonderful oboe solo done with a voilin, which was lovely.

[tacoman2115]

This is sooooo good!!! I can listen to this over and over again!! Beautiful!

[misinterpretations]

I absolutely love this. I agree with all of the comments that say an oboe solo works better here. As much as I love clarinet (which I also play), there's something about the vibrato and tone of the oboe that I love during this section.

Gotta give some credit to the great arpeggios on clarinet (and sax?) countering the main melody. Stunning.

And I'm a sucker for the kinds of movement found at :52 and 1:59 :P

[EarlsOfSweetSwing]

Re: Clarinet vs/ Oboe.

They could be using the older edition of the score. It has the solo for oboe OR clarinet (with oboe) and was based on the first set of parts as opposed to the manuscript. The new edition from the 80s is based on the manuscript which has the solo in the clarinet only. Both the old score and the manuscript can be viewed at IMSLP.

[IAMAWESOME1915]

Do you hear the way the basses are making a statement. Not overpowering but emphasizing the the melody. The basses are making the soft defining melody even more powerful. 2:30 is the best fitted downward scale Ive heard in my 14 years of being a music critique.

[suby2010]

this def. sounds better then a clairenet

[samtheclarinetist]

The way I remember this piece there was a clarinet and oboe duet. They were in unison at first, then the clarinet started doing the arpeggios (1:10). Clarinet is in a lower octave, so you hear the oboe during the unison part.

[BroadwayFlutist]

Favorite Holst movement ever! :) I personally like the solo done by an oboe instead. So much emotion. :D

[jake41123]

this movement just flows so smoothly its SO BEAUTIFUL!

[jake41123]

i played this song in concert band and i loved it :D wish i still had the sheet music for it tho D:

[hogann1482657]

I love the background at the beginning of the piece where it changes from low brass and flutes to f horn and sax. That's sounds so cool , and I can't believe they replaced the clarinet with oboe, but it does sound better.

[brassmachine93]

i get goosebumps everytime i hear this movement

[ChipperChigger]

I have loved this song ever since I played it in High School. Its so beautiful and fun to play too!

[crazitaco]

aww replaced by an oboe, poor clarinet.

this song sounds so beautifull! especially when compared to the other songs in the second suite which all sound either manly (song of the blacksmith) or peasant-y (fantasie in the dargason)

[AriannaFaure]

this is unbelievably beautiful, our band played it all All State, I was like crying, it was so lovely

[mswhite2012]

I was shocked to hear an oboe playing the clarinet solo. I really like it, though. My favorite part is the contrabass solo at the end. Contras FTW!

[ThePhilosopher91]

I've never heard a piece by Holst that i didnt like

[kindofdoon]

perhaps a bit too much vibrato, though i suppose that's more of a personal preference.