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Title
Le petit negre
Original Title
Composer
Debussy, Claude
Year
1909
Editor
Arranger
Terzer, Armin
Year Arranged
2008
Original Instrumentation
Piano
Publisher
Corniworld
Year Published
2008
Catalogue Number
CPH084
Sheet Music Format
A4, Score (2) & parts (4x1=4)
Horns
4
Additional Equipment
Others
Other Instruments
Duration
2
Structure / Movements
One movement. Allegro giusto
Clefs
Treble, bass
Meters
2/4
Key signatures
None
Range
Music For Horns Home Browse Biblio Search Biblio Search Site News Information/FAQ Home Le petit negre View Revisions PDF versionPDF version Composer: Debussy, Claude Year Composed: 1909 Arranger: Terzer, Armin Year Arranged: 2008 Original Instrumentation: Piano Type of Arrangement: Transcription Availability: Free Sheet Music Format: A4, Score (2) & parts (4x1=4) Players Number of Players: 4 Additional Players: 0 Approximate Duration: 2 Technical Difficulty: Medium Structure/Movements: One movement. Allegro giusto Clefs: Treble, bass Key signatures: None Meters: 2/4 Range: Horn 1: f - c3 Horn 2: A - g2 Horn 3: d - e2 Horn 4: D - c2
Creator's Comments
How hard can it be to find some information about a piece pretty much everybody knows, or has heard at least once before? Well, in the case of Le petit negre it can be a bit of a struggle. Le petit negre, or The little negro, or The little nigar was written in 1909 and influenced by African-American music, incorporating some pre-jazz elements (mainly chords and rhythms). Its composer, Debussy (1862-1918), is of course one of the best known French Impressionistic composers. In the original version, Le petit negre is a brief piano piece, about a minute and a half long. The key is C major (however judging by the amount of accidentals that appear throughout the score, that key is not used exclusively). This arrangement is not a sounding transposition, but a key shift to F major achieved by simple leaving the notes as they appear on the original score. The parts are distributed according to the standard 1-3-2-4 scheme, with a range from pedal D to top C. Decent bass clef reading skill is required for horns 2 and 4. Due to the range used and the syncopated rhythms, this piece is actually not as easy as it may seem, but great fun to play for quartets at intermediate level and above.
Performance Notes
Credits
Sound
Score