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The Parting Glass sheet music

The Parting Glass sheet music includes contrasting versions of a traditional song: a four-part SSAA vocal setting, a Blockflöte part, and a score with no named instrumentation. The scores give different opening key signatures while sharing an opening 4/4 metre, so singers and players should compare voicing, key, tempo and scope before choosing.

Scores 1–20 of 27

Sheet music

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Choosing between vocal and instrumental versions

The SSAA setting names Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto 1 and Alto 2, so it is a four-part upper-voice arrangement. Another score names a Blockflöte part. The remaining score gives an opening key and time signature but no named part, so its intended instrument cannot be assumed. Check the named forces first, then the opening key, when matching a score to a choir or player.

Opening keys, metre and tempo

The SSAA version opens with four flats in 4/4 at 80 BPM. The Blockflöte version opens with one sharp in 4/4. The score with no named part opens with two sharps, given as B minor, in 4/4. These details describe openings only; they do not show whether a version changes key, metre or tempo later.

Durations and scope

Listed durations differ: about 2 minutes 27 seconds for the SSAA setting, about 34 seconds for the Blockflöte version, and about 1 minute 14 seconds for the B minor score. The available information does not establish whether these differences reflect an excerpt, a shortened arrangement, a different verse count, or another factor. The shortest timing is not evidence of the song's standard length.

Scottish and Irish descriptions

Score labels disagree: one calls The Parting Glass “Traditional Scottish,” while another describes it as an “Irish parting song.” Treat the national description as attached to a particular score, and choose a version by voicing, key and instrumentation where those details are clear.

Scores to open first

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Common questions

What is The Parting Glass?

The Parting Glass is a traditional song. Scores under this title include a four-part SSAA vocal setting, a Blockflöte part, and a score with no named part.

What vocal arrangement of The Parting Glass is available?

The Parting Glass SSAA- Version 2 is a four-part setting with parts named Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto 1 and Alto 2. It opens with four flats in 4/4 at 80 BPM and has a listed duration of about 2 minutes 27 seconds. The score does not state whether the setting is accompanied or how many verses it includes.

Is there a recorder version of The Parting Glass?

A version of The Parting Glass lists a Blockflöte part, the recorder family. It opens with one sharp in 4/4 and has a listed duration of about 34 seconds. The available information does not specify which recorder size is intended.

What key does The Parting Glass begin in?

The available scores for The Parting Glass do not share one opening key. One opens with four flats, another with one sharp, and another with two sharps, given as B minor. These are opening key signatures only; a version may change key later.

What time signature and tempo do these scores give for The Parting Glass?

The listed scores for The Parting Glass all give 4/4 as the opening time signature. Only the SSAA setting supplies an opening tempo, 80 BPM. The shared opening metre does not prove that every section stays in 4/4, and no tempo is given for the other versions.

Why do the listed durations for The Parting Glass vary?

Listed durations for The Parting Glass range from about 34 seconds to about 2 minutes 27 seconds, with another listing of about 1 minute 14 seconds. The available information does not establish whether the differences come from an excerpt, a shortened arrangement, a different number of verses, or another cause. The shortest timing is not evidence of the song's standard length.