Small Ensemble Bassoon,Clarinet,Flute,Horn,Oboe - Level 4 - Digital Download
SKU: A0.818162
Composed by Gabriel Faure. Arranged by Philip Le Bas. 20th Century. Score and parts. 113 pages. Philip Le Bas #3590141. Published by Philip Le Bas (A0.818162).
Faure’s piano duet entitled Dolly Suite is here arranged by Philip Le Bas for a wind sextet, consisting of a standard wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon) plus bass clarinet. The bass clarinet gives the music more sonority and it allows the arranger more opportunity to bring out Faure’s sumptuous harmonies. Dolly was the nickname of the baby daughter of Emma Bardac, with whom Faure had a long-running affair, and each of the pieces has a slightly different association with childhood.
1) The Berceuse (lullaby) is best remembered as the theme tune to the BBC’s Listen with Mother, and its tune is indelibly marked into the memories of generations of radio listeners between 1950 and 1982. It was written for Dolly’s first birthday. (An alternative part for clarinet in A is available for this movement, to avoid the otherwise slightly tricky key signature of F sharp major!)
2) Mi-a-ou has nothing to do with cats, but is a version of Dolly’s first attempts to pronounce the name of her brother Raoul. Written for her second birthday, it is a delicate and playful scherzo with lots of cross-rhythms for the instruments.
3) Le Jardin de Dolly is regarded by some as the best piece in the collection, with its gorgeous tune and unexpected harmonies, creating an impressionistic picture of a beautiful, peaceful French garden.
4) Kitty-Valse again has nothing to do with cats but with the family dog Ketty, who whirls round and round, in unrelenting cheerfulness.
5) In Tendresse Faure introduces more chromatic harmonies, used in his later works. As its name and its key of D flat suggests, the music here seems to express deep and shifting emotions associated with intimate relationships, while retaining a sense of calm and comfort throughout.
6) The last piece, Le Pas Espagnole is a thrilling journey across the border into the exotic Spanish world of dance. There is much in common with Chabrier’s Espana, and here the wind players can enjoy playing at full tilt in an exciting and tuneful end to the suite.
