Ray Thompson Music

The bulk of my music is for wind quintet and wind dectet .

I have been arranging music for wind groups for many years.

I have arranged a mixture of baroque, classical, romantic, impressionistic and and modern composers

My wind ensemble arrangements do not simply transcribe the music giving the top voicing/melody to the flute etc, which many people seem to do. I move the melody amongst all the players dovetailing it where needed.

My arrangements of music by classical composers such as Mozart and Beethoven etc. may differ from other people's wind arrangements.

I am a horn player and made the decision to write the horn parts,as far as possible, as Mozart or Beethoven would have written them.

(They didn't actually write any music for wind quintet, but wrote mainly for sextets and octets.)

So, the horn parts are written in the key of the piece Eb, G, D, C or whatever, and as far as possible I limit the notes to that of the natural horn (i.e. no valves).

In my opinion this gives a more authentic sound to the music.

Of course, sometimes, if the music needs a particular tenor part/melody or harmony, I will write it for horn. BUT AS FAR AS POSSIBLE, I write for natural horn.

I also provide F horn parts for those players who can't/won't transpose.

I have also noticed that arrangements by other people have the horn player playing fast moving passages in the lower octave.

This is difficult to play,doesn't sound very good and doesn't carry!! Far better to give that melody to a low clarinet or the bassoon, or move the melody up an octave.

My wind quintet arrangements include Schumann's Kinderscenen (scenes from childhood), Mozart's divertimento 8 K 213 (originally written for wind sextet) and all the movts from Peter Warlock's Capriol Suite

I am currently the director of Alnwick Symphonic Wind Ensemble