L’Arlésienne Suite No 2 (arr Finck)

From Wind Repertory Project
Georges Bizet

Georges Bizet (arr. Herman Finck; trans. William James Duthoit)


General Info

Year: 1872 / 1932
Duration:
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Cost: Score and Parts – Out of print


Movements

1. Andante Sostenuto
2. Intermezzo
3. Menuet
4. Farandole


Instrumentation

Condensed Score
D-flat Piccolo
D-flat Flute
Oboe
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet Solo-I-II-III
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II
B-flat Trumpet
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion (3 players), including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum
  • Tambourine


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Georges Bizet composed L'Arlésienne as incidental music to Alphonse Daudet's play of the same name, usually translated as "The Girl from Arles." It was first performed on 1 October 1872 at the Vaudeville Theatre. Bizet's music consists of 27 numbers (some only a few bars) for voice, chorus, and small orchestra, ranging from short solos to longer entr'actes. Bizet himself played the harmonium backstage at the premiere performance.

Bizet's suite contains several folk-like themes for the music but also incorporated three existing tunes from a folk-music collection published by Vidal of Aix in 1864: La Marcho di Rei (The March of the Kings), the Danse dei Chivau-Frus, and Er dou Guet. The score achieves powerful dramatic ends with the most economic of means. Still, it received poor reviews in the wake of the premiere and is not much performed nowadays in its original form. The play itself was not successful, closing after only 21 performances. It had been staged as a last-minute replacement for another play, which had been banned by the censors, and the audience was less than favourably disposed to the new play.

The incidental music has survived and flourished, however. It is most often heard in the form of two suites for orchestra, but has also been recorded complete.

- Program Note from Wikipedia


Media

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


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Bizet, G.; Finck, H.; Duthoit, W. (1932). L'Arlesienne: Suite II [score]. Hawkes & Son: London.
  • Girsberger, Russ. Percussion Assignments for Band & Wind Ensemble. Volume I: A-K. Galesburg, MD: Meredith Music Publications, 2004, 44. Print.
  • L'Arlésienne (Bizet), Wikipedia Accessed 24 April 2020