Le Premier Jour

Jean Balissat

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General Info

Year: 1993
Duration: c. 12:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Editions Marc Reift
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - CHF265.00 | Score Only (print) - CHF105.00

Instrumentation

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

(percussion detail desired)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

"Le premier jour" refers to the biblical text of Genesis, describing the first day of creation. “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:3-5).

Balissat’s tone poem is written in a single movement, using the Genesis text as his structuring device, expressing the call that rises from the depths of the abyss towards the light, as also referred in Psalm 130 “De Profundis”. Le Premier Jour can be considered as a descriptive symphonic movement as well as song of hope.

- Program Note from WASBE

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Symphonisches Blasorchester Schweizer Armeespiel

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Südtiroler Jugendblasorchester (Bozen, Italy) (Isabelle Ruf Weber, conductor) - 20 July 2019
Sinfonisches Blasorchester Bern (Swit.) (Willi Derungs, conductor) – 12 September 2015

Works for Winds by This Composer

Gli elementi
Incantation and Sacrifice
Le Premier Jour (1993)
Les Gurks
Ranz des Vaches (1977)
Simlebarg (1964)
Sinfonie für Blasorchester (1994)
Marche de l'Union Postale Universelle (1973)
Mi-ete et Polka (1996)

Resources

Balissat, J. (1993). Le premier jour (wind band) = Der erste Tag [score]. Editions Marc Reift: Zumikon, Ger.
Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Jean Balissat." Accessed 9 June 2021
"LE PREMIER JOUR for Wind Band by Jean Balissat (Switzerland, 1936 – 2007)." WASBE. Web. (Featured as WASBE’s Composition of the Week, 17 May 2021). Accessed 13 January 2023
Perusal score