Barnyard Holiday is a symphonic poem in which the orchestra tells the story of the animals in a barnyard, where the instruments represent different animals.
The story happens at the time of autumn festival, which is a celebration that follows the farmer's return from bringing his produce to market. Act I begins with sunrise over the barnyard. Rooster then crows reveille, and the animals line up to be counted by the farmer. Each animal is introduced musically including cows, pigs, cats, dogs and sheep, swallows and geese, horses and ponies. After the farmer leaves, Goat, who longs to be free, chews a hole in her pen and runs away. She gets lost in the forest, becomes pinned under a tree limb, and cries for help.
Act 2 begins with the animals eating their midday meal in the barnyard, when they notice that Goat is missing. After much discussion, they agree to look for her. The animals track Goat through the forest, rescue her from under the tree limb, and return home just before the farmer returns. The festival Jubilee follows with the farmer playing his violin. Act 2 ends with sunset over the barnyard while the animals fall asleep.
A curtain call of all cast members follows. The curtain call can also be used as an overture.
This work is very suitable for concert with narration, ballet, storybook, and multimedia. Please contact for details.
When you click on any scene in Act 1 or Act 2, the story line from the music score will display. Each text has a corresponding audio clip beneath it.
You can also listen to each song in its entirety by clicking 
, or browse the music score 
.
"I hope you enjoy listening to Barnyard Holiday as much as I enjoyed writing it".
- Ralph Lecessi, composer
Instrumentation:
|
2 Flutes Piccolo |
(Barn Swallows) | 4 Horns | (Dogs) |
|
2 Oboes English Horn |
(Goat) | 3 Trumpets | (Chickens) |
|
2 Clarinets Bass Clarinet |
(Geese) |
2 Tenor Trombones Bass Trombone Tuba |
(Cows and Ox) |
|
2 Bassoons Contrabassoon |
(Pigs) | Timpani | (Farmer) |
|
Violins I Violins II |
(Cats) | Harp | |
| Violas | (Sheep) |
Triangle |
|
| Violoncellos | (Ponies) |
Bass Drum Snare Drum |
|
| Contrabasses | (Horses) |
Cymbals Suspended Cymbal |