Chant Funéraire

From Wind Repertory Project
Gabriel Fauré

Gabriel Fauré (orch. Myron Moss)


The title translates from the French as "funeral song." It bears the designation Opus 117.


General Info

Year: 1921 / 2004
Duration: c. 7:20
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Cost: Score and Parts - $75.00   |   Score Only - $7.50


Instrumentation

Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbal
  • Glockenspiel


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Fauré wrote Chant Funéraire ("Funeral Song") in 1921 on a commission from the French government to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Napoleon‘s death. He wrote the piece when he was 75 years old, after having retired from the Paris Conservatory. During this time, Fauré was very ill, and as a result he did not orchestrate the Chant Funeraire. Guillaume Balay originally orchestrated Chant Funéraire for band. and it was he who conducted the premiere performance with the Gardé Republicaine Band (arguably the best wind band of its time). Then, in 2003, Myron “Mike” Moss created a new orchestration, in which he writes:

Balay’s orchestration offers the power and grandeur called for by the Gardé Republicaine, but it is weighed down by the band music conventions of its time. The scoring is thick throughout (a phenomenon found nowhere in Fauré’s own orchestrations), the score’s quiet moments are especially over-instrumented, and Fauré’s clean and sonorous voice leading is often obscured through inconsistent octave doublings. The present orchestration emulates the transparent and clear scoring of Fauré’s own style.

- Program Note from University of Georgia Hodgson Wind Symphony concert program, 8 November 2016


Media

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Moss, Myron. "Chant funéraire." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 468-475. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.