12 Variations on Happy Birthday To You for Two Melody Instruments

This is a clever set of variations on this well-known tune, designed to be played on any two melody instruments. There are parts provided of the second part in bass clef, alto clef and transposed to Bb for maximum flexibility, or it can be played from the score for two instruments in the same transposition and reading in the same clef.

I have to admit the idea of Happy Birthday going on ad nauseam through endless variations filled me with some dread, but I was actually pleasantly surprised and even impressed with this publication.

Firstly, the variations are short, to the point, and full of character. They are expertly crafted by a skilled composer, who subjects the melody to a range of different treatments, including hocketing, virtuoso semiquavers, expressive arioso, a sarabande, a fugue, a canon and crab canon, and there's even a variation using quartal harmony. This is much more advanced - and imaginative - thank I had expected, and it's interesting to see how the melody is transformed in different ways. Each variation has its own strong sense of character and the instruments are given equal levels of interest.

The cover and marketing suggests this is aimed at children, and I am sure young people in an audience would be delighted by the range of sounds these variations can offer. However, playing them is not always easy, and there are some quite significant musical and technical challenges, which mean they are better suited to intermediate players. The variations were originally written with flute and oboe in mind, so the second part has a lower tessitura, but both can be played on flutes.

There is a lot of entertainment value in this music, and I can imagine the variations being popular with teenagers to play through as a treat on their birthdays, or for players of any age delighting friends and family with a performance. The pieces are dedicated to all birthday boys and girls around the world - so they are likely to get lots of performances!