Good Times
Commissioned by the Manitoba Educational Ensemble with the Manitoba Arts Council, for community concerts when a woodwind quintet, brass quintet and quartet of strings come together.
Instrumentation: 1111/2211/strings – (solo strings: 1 violin, 1 viola, 1 cello, 1 bass or a body of strings).
Fugue/Waltz/Ragtime 7’; Prairie Landscapes 8’; Shaleen 5’; Butterfly Dance 4’.
Suitable for community, university or professional orchestra.
Difficulty: good community, university or professional orchestra.
The Butterfly Dance is an often performed and popular piece on Classic FM in the UK.
Performances: Premiere Manitoba Educational Ensemble 1979, Winnipeg, and Manitoba tour, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Boris Brott conductor; Symphony Nova Scotia, Georg Tintner, conductor; Mississauga Symphony, John Barnum, conductor; East York Symphony; Scarborough Philharmonic; Brandon University Symphony; Niagara Symphony Orchestra; St. John Symphony Orchestra; Boris Brott Music Festival.
CBC broadcast recording 1986, Symphony Nova Scotia, Georg Tintner, conductor.
Score for sale (orchestra parts – rental) also see Chamber
On the CD – The Mennonite Piano Concerto with The London Symphony Orchestra, Boris Brott, conductor, 1989.
“The four movements of the Good Times Suite also emphasizes Davies’ smiling conviction that life is beautiful. In this day and age that’s rare.” James Tircuit – Fanfare Magazine
“Then came Good Times, and very good they were, too. The composer, Davies,…has a delightful melodic gift that’s allied to a broad and beautifully timed sense of humor. …a finely crafted piece“. Hugh Fraser (Hamilton Spectator)
