Carmen Suite (arr. Sheen)

Georges Bizet

Georges Bizet (arr. Graham Sheen)

General Info

Year: 1875 / 1991
Duration: c. 14:30
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Kalmus
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $59.95 | Score Only (print) - $29.95

Movements

1. Aragonaise - 2:10
2. Habanera – 1:55
3. Intermezzo - 2:45
4. Seguedille - 1:45
5. Les Dragons D'Alcala – 1:45
6. Les Toreadors – 2:10

Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
Horn in F I-II

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The story of Carmen is set in Seville, Spain, in 1820. It is the story of a passionate, fickle gypsy girl, Carmen, who is one of six major roles in the opera. The story, in four acts, is action-packed, animated, flowing, and never dragging or uninteresting.

Bizet was well acquainted with Spanish folklore and folk music through his many visits to Spain. For Carmen, he composed a score that was rhythmical, tuneful, and characteristic of the gypsy lifestyle. This adaptation for concert band, a suite in four movements, retains the spirit of the original production.

- Program Note from publisher

Carmen is an opera in four acts by French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a eponymous novella by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalized its first audiences. Carmen has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon; the Habanera from act 1 and the Toreador Song from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias.

The opera is written in the genre of opéra comique with musical numbers separated by dialogue. It is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsy Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen's love to the glamorous torero Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage. The depictions of proletarian life, immorality, and lawlessness, and the tragic death of the main character on stage, broke new ground in French opera and were highly controversial.

- Program Note from Wikipedia

Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

University of Texas at Arlington Wind Symphony (Douglas Stotter, conductor) - 14 March 2021

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Carmen Fantasy (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Park) (1875/2017)
Children's Chorus from "Carmen Suite" (Adaptable Band) (arr. Fisher) (1875/2017)
Farandole from L'Arlésienne Suite No.2 (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kataoka) (1872/2014)
Habañera (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (19875/2016)

All Wind Works

Adagietto (Brass Quintet) (arr. Hautvast)
Adagietto (Clarinet Quartet) (arr. Hautvast)
Adagietto (Saxophone Quartet) (arr. Hautvast)
Adagietto (Woodwind Quartet) (arr. Hautvast)
Adagio from Bizet Symphony (arr. Brand)
Andante (arr. Van Der Beek)
Au fond du temple saint (arr. Johnson) (1863/2017)
Carmen (tr. McAlister; ed. Reed) (1875/2000)
A Carmen Celebration (arr. Cacavas) (1875/2010)
Carmen Fantasia (arr. Hunsberger) (1875/2004)
Carmen Fantasy (arr. Ito) (1875/2009)
Carmen Fantasy (arr. Sostac) (1875/2011)
Carmen Fantasy (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Park) (1875/2017)
Carmen Fantasy (arr. Suzuki) (1875/2001)
Carmen Fantasy (arr. Tobani and Kent) (1875/1947)
Carmen: Habanera (arr. Zugrov) (1875/2015)
Carmen Highlights (arr. Williams) (1875)
Carmen Suite (arr. Bullock) (1875/1983)
Carmen Suite (arr. Guirard; tr. Buckley) (1875/2018)
Carmen Suite (arr. Holcombe and Holcombe Jr.) (1875/1998)
Carmen Suite (arr. Sheen) (1875/1991)
Carmen Symphony (tr. Serebrier; ed. Patterson) (1875)
Children's Chorus from "Carmen Suite" (Adaptable Band) (arr. Fisher) (1875/2017)
Duet from "The Pearl Fishers" (arr. de Meij) (1875/2016)
Farandole (arr. Bocook) (1872/2002)
Farandole (1872/1988)
Farandole (arr. Daehn) (1872)
Farandole (arr. Iasilli) (1872/1936)
Farandole from L'Arlésienne Suite No.2 (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kataoka) (1872/2014)
Farandole (arr. Schaefer) (1872)
Farandole (arr. Longfield) (1872/1993)
Flower Song from “Carmen” (arr. Harding) (1875)
Gypsy Dance (arr. Reed) (1872/1997)
Habañera (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (19875/2016)
Habañera from "Carmen" (trans. Odom) (1875)
Jeux d'enfants (arr. Di Scala)
Intermezzo (arr. Sharp) (1875/2002)
L’Arlésienne Suite No. 1 (arr. Finck) (1932)
L’Arlésienne Suite No. 1 (arr. Laurendeau) (1905)
L’Arlésienne Suite No. 2 (arr. Finck; tr. Duthoit) (1872/1932)
L’Arlésienne Suite No 2 (tr. C. Godfrey; ed. McAlister and Reed) (1872/2002)
L’Arlésienne Suite No. 2 (arr. Sorlin) (1872/2005)
Minisuite from Carmen (arr. Marlatt) (1875)
Minuet from "L’Arlésienne Suite" (arr. Walko) (1872/)
Music from Carmen (arr. Saucedo) (1875)
Open Thy Heart (arr. Glover) (1859/2014)
Overture to "The Pearl Fishers" (arr. Cailliet) (1863/1956)
Pastorale and Intermezzo (arr. Lake) (1924)
Petite Suite: Jeux d'Enfants (arr. Brand) (1871/1999)
Selections from Bizet’s Carmen
Selections from "Carmen" (arr. Dunnigan) (1875/2021)
Selections from "Carmen" (arr. Musser) (1875/1941)
Selections from "Carmen" (arr. Safranek) (1875/1912)
Selections from "Carmen" (arr. Sharp) (1875)
Selections from "The Pearl Fishers" (arr. Lake) (1875/1921)
Suite: Jeux d'Enfants (arr. Brand). See: Petite Suite: Jeux d'Enfants
Suite from "Carmen" (arr. Curnow) (1875)
Suite from "Carmen" (arr. D. Godfrey) (1875/1915)
Toreador Song (arr. Barnes) (1875/1988)
Toreador Song (arr. Barrow) (1875/1976)
Two Bizet Pieces (arr. Frackenpohl)
Votre Toast (arr. Cray) (1875)

Resources

Bizet, G.; Sheen, G. (1991). Carmen Suite [score]. Kalmus: Boca Raton, Fla.
Carmen, Wikipedia Accessed 16 September 2020