ISMN # 979-0-3071-0095-4
ASCAP Work ID # 939934661
Enchant your listeners with this delightful intermediate arrangement for clarinet quartet of Sir Charles V. Stanford's whimsical setting of the secular Irish part-song "Quick! We Have But a Second"--instantly downloadable for your next performance. This arrangement is the perfect choice as an encore or closer for a recital. This charming setting, based on the traditional Irish air “Paddy O'Snap,” combines late-Romantic harmonic color with folk-like directness to musically describe the fleeting nature of time. The rhythm of the piece is based on an Irish Slip jig, which is characterized by a driving, skipping triple rhythm in 9/8 meter. This arrangement was written for most ensembles, from advanced high school quintets to college groups to amateur ensembles and professional quintets.
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an influential Anglo-Irish composer, conductor, and teacher of the late Romantic era. He was a founding professor of composition at the Royal College of Music in London and Professor of Music at Cambridge University. Sir Charles taught a generation of British composers who achieved international fame, including Sir Arthur Bliss, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Gustav Holst, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. This amusing, short piece alternates dynamically between cheerful, louder sections and mischievous, quieter passages, finishing with a charmingly hushed, delicate resolution. Delight your audiences with this unique setting for winds of a British choral-music classic.
Updated 16 Oct 2026
ISMN # 979-0-3071-0095-4
ASCAP Work ID # 939934661
Enchant your listeners with this delightful intermediate arrangement for clarinet quartet of Sir Charles V. Stanford's whimsical setting of the secular Irish part-song "Quick! We Have But a Second"--instantly downloadable for your next performance. This arrangement is the perfect choice as an encore or closer for a recital. This charming setting, based on the traditional Irish air “Paddy O'Snap,” combines late-Romantic harmonic color with folk-like directness to musically describe the fleeting nature of time. The rhythm of the piece is based on an Irish Slip jig, which is characterized by a driving, skipping triple rhythm in 9/8 meter. This arrangement was written for most ensembles, from advanced high school quintets to college groups to amateur ensembles and professional quintets.
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an influential Anglo-Irish composer, conductor, and teacher of the late Romantic era. He was a founding professor of composition at the Royal College of Music in London and Professor of Music at Cambridge University. Sir Charles taught a generation of British composers who achieved international fame, including Sir Arthur Bliss, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Gustav Holst, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. This amusing, short piece alternates dynamically between cheerful, louder sections and mischievous, quieter passages, finishing with a charmingly hushed, delicate resolution. Delight your audiences with this unique setting for winds of a British choral-music classic.
Updated 16 Oct 2026
You-Tube score-following video of Stanford’s “Quick! We Have But a Second,” arranged for clarinet quartet by Mark A. Craig/Craig Music Publishers
This is a clarinet quartet arrangement of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford's secular Irish part-song, "Quick! We Have But a Second.” The digital download includes a PDF with the full score and a complete set of parts.
Instrumentation:
Bb Clarinet (3)
Bass Clarinet (1)
