The Horses Quintet

Giddy up!

In June of 2024, Navona Records released "The Music of Melissa C. Shiflett", featuring Melissa's new work, The Horses' Quintet. You can find details about the recording and options for purchase and streaming on Navona's site. Published sheet music is available for purchase by Noxon Publications.

The Horses’ Quintet was inspired by a riding instructor named Wrangler and his five beautiful and quirky horses, trained to perfection to give riders a western cowboy style ride through the prairies in Indiana.

Movement I: Horses on Parade

Five horses with riders, side by side, shoulders (of the horses) lined up, horses and riders perform quick turns in formation as a single unit. The horses know what they are doing.

Movement II: A Windy Day

Two student riders are instructed to guide their horses alone around a huge circular path in a field of tall grass. The wind is high, and one of the other horses is free to run wild on its own. He excites the horses with riders. The lead rope of one horse gets loose and threatens to trip the horse. The rider must bend over very far to retrieve it while the horse continues to trot around the circle. Thrilling.

Movement III: Horses in the Field
The five horses are riderless in a fenced-in grassy field. They station themselves in each corner, while the dominant horse stands in the middle between them. They graze, talking to each other, while the light slowly shifts from afternoon to evening.

Movement IV: A Ride Through the Prairie
Big sky, endless paths cut through the tall grasses, the horses with their amusing personalities sweeping though the prairie and then finally returning home, back to the stable, clippity-clop.