Girl with the Flaxen Hair, The (Bernotas)

Claude Debussy

General Info

Year: 1909 / 2013
Duration: c. 3:25
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano
Publisher: Bandworks Publications
Cost: Score and Parts - $70.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
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 Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II, including:

Bells
Suspended Cymbal
Triangle
Vibraphone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Known as La fill aux cheveux de lin in French, this piece is the eighth of Claude Debussy’s well-known Preludes, Book 1 (1909- 1910) for piano. Set at 60 beats per minute and marked “calmly and expressive,” this arrangement is legato cantabile throughout and makes effective use of rubato. It begins with an unaccompanied solo scored for either clarinet or flute. This arpeggiated phrase is immediately answered by the brass choir and restated by the woodwind choir. Near the conclusion of the work, the opening idea returns, scored in the solo trumpet and leads to a quiet ending. This arrangement is an inviting and rewarding way to develop an appreciation for this significant style period and important French composer, but the musical challenges place it at the more difficult end of this grade level. It will program best where a change of pace is needed.

-Program Note from The Instrumentalist, Aug. 2013, p. 41.

The Girl With the Flaxen Hair (La fille aux cheveux de lin) is the eighth of Claude Debussy’s Préludes, Book I (1909-1910), for piano. It is gentle, fluid, and full of light, flowing harmonies. This colorful adaptation of one of Debussy’s best-known works will be a worthy challenge and a musically rewarding experience for all medium- and advanced-level ensembles.

-Program Note from publisher.

Media

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

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908)

All Wind Works

Afternoon of a Faun, The (arr. Walters) (1894/1950/1999?)
Beau Soir (arr. Warner) (1880/1971)
Children’s Corner Suite (arr. Winterbottom) (1908)
Clair de lune (arr. de Meij) (1890/1905/2017)
Clair de Lune (arr. Wallace) (1890/1905/1995)
Danse (arr. Boyd) (1890/1983)
Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (arr. Odom) (1904/2019)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (tr. J. Lloyd) (1904)
Debussy: Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Akey) (1910/1995)
The Engulfed Cathedral (tr. Longfield) (1910/1987)
The Engulfed Cathedral (arr. Miller) (1910/1986)
The Engulfed Cathedral (tr. Patterson) (1910/1993)
The Engulfed Cathedral. See also: La Cathédrale Engloutie
Fêtes (arr. Schaefer) (c. 1899/1959)
Fêtes from "Nocturnes" (arr. Patterson) (c. 1899/2007)
Fêtes from "Three Nocturnes" (tr. Tatebe) (c.1899/1999)
Four Debussy Songs (trans. Anderson) (2018)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (arr. Curnow) (1908/1985)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Beyrent) (1910/2013)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Brand) (1910)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Bernotas) (1910)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Moss) (1910/2007)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Sparke) (1910/2007)
Hommage à Rameau (arr. Hunsberger) (1905/2009)
La Cathédrale Engloutie (arr. Mortimer) (1910/2016)
La Cathédrale Engloutie. See also: The Engulfed Cathedral
La Mer (trans. Odom) (1905/)
L’isle joyeuse (arr. Mashima) (1904/2005)
L'isle joyeuse (arr. Volans) (1904/1995)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Onodera) (1891/1908/2015(?))
Marche Écossaise (tr. Onodera) (Octet) (1891/1908/2015(?))
Marche Écossaise (tr. Schaefer) (1891/1908/1964)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Scatterday) (1891/1908)
'Menuet' from Suite Bergamasque (arr. Southard) (1890/2012)
Minstrels (tr. Scarbrough) (1910/2016)
Pagodes from "Estampes" (arr. Grainger) (1996)
Petite Suite (arr. Brakkee) (1889/1999?)
Petite Suite (tr. Winterbottom) (1889)
Petite Suite (arr. Kimura) (1889/1998)
Premiere Arabesque (1891)
Première Rhapsodie (arr. Yodo)
Première Rhapsody (tr. Baars) (1910/12016)
Première Rhapsody (arr. Walker; ed. Pappas) (1910/1963/2004)
Rêverie (tr. Thompson) (1890/2011)
Sarabande (tr. Bennefield) (1894/1901/2020)
Sarabande (tr. Erickson) (1894/1967)
Suite Bergamasque Mvt 2 Menuet (arr. Thompson)
Three Debussy Pieces (arr. Singletary)
Three Pieces from "Children's Corner" (orch. Sheen) (1908/1988)

Resources

Chris Bernotas website
La fille aux cheveux de lin, Wikipedia Accessed 6 August 2018