Ian Deterling

The Cabinet of Caligari for concert band

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Op. 5 (2014)

  • Concert Band

  • Grade 4

  • ca. 4:30

Score/Parts PDF Previews

Program Notes

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is silent German expressionist film from 1920. Considered by many to be the first 'true' horror film, Caligari was incredibly innovative with its use of cinematography, warped sets, and the first substantial use of what is now known as the ‘plot-twist’ ending. The title character of the film, Dr. Caligari, has a cabinet - (believe it or not!) - and in this cabinet lives the somnambulist (the sleepwalker), Cesare, who goes around carrying out Caligari's evil deeds.

  • Directed by Robert Wiene and staring Werner Krauss and Conrad Veidt, The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari continues to influence, inspire, and captivate filmmakers even today. This work for concert band makes use of several themes used in Deterling's orchestral score that he composed to accompany the film:

  • ’Dr. Caligari’ theme [A] - first heard in alto saxophones and horns (measures 5-6).

  • ‘Dr. Caligari’ theme [B] - first heard in clarinets 1, 2 and trumpets (measures 13-14).

  • ‘Cesare’ theme - first heard in low winds and low brass (measures 20-22).

  • ‘Jane/Love’ theme - first heard in horns and trombones (measures 61-64).

  • ‘Plot twist is about to happen’ theme - first heard in clarinets (measures 113-116).

  • Instrumentation:

    • Piccolo

    • Flutes 1, 2

    • Oboe

    • Bassoons 1, 2

    • Clarinets in Bb 1-3

    • Bass Clarinet in Bb

    • Contrabass Clarinet

    • Alto Saxophones 1, 2

    • Tenor Saxophone

    • Baritone Saxophone

    • Trumpets in Bb 1-3

    • Horns in F 1-4

    • Trombones 1, 2

    • Bass Trombone

    • Euphonium

    • Tuba

    • Double Bass

    • Percussion:

      • Percussion 1 (Bass Drum, Tambourine)

      • Percussion 2 (Suspended Cymbal, Tam-tam, Triangle, High-Hat, Crash Cymbals)

      • Xylophone

      • Timpani

    • Special note: the Bassoon 2, Contrabass Clarinet, Horns 2 & 4, and Double Bass parts are optional because they’re always either doubled or cued in other parts.

What do I get when I order The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Op. 5?

  • You will receive the score and parts in the form of three PDFs:

    • Score formatted to Tabloid paper, 11” x 17” (279mm x 432mm)

    • Score formatted to US Letter-size paper, 8.5” x 11” (216mm x 279mm)

    • Complete set of parts

  • Once your order has been processed, you’ll be emailed a link where you can download the sheet music.

  • When you click on the link to download your music, you’ll be brought to the download page (see image)

Download page for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Op. 5

  • Note that the score and parts are separated into different PDF files.

  • You can download everything (‘Download All’ button at the bottom), save the files to Dropbox, or download selected score/parts individually.

  • My website is set to three download attempts (see ‘3 downloads remaining’ in the image). If an error occurs or if you need additional download attempts, contact me here and I’ll reset the limit for you.