3 pieces:
I La petit negre (arr. Kerry Turner): Allegro giusto
II Reverie (arr. Kerry Turner): Andantino
III La Soire dans Grenade from Estampes (arr. Geoffrey Winter): Tempo de habanera
Clefs
Treble, bass
Meters
2/4, C, 3/4
Key signatures
None, 1b, 4#, 2#, 4b, 2b
Range
Horn 1: a - c3
Horn 2: Bb - g2
Horn 3: d - a2
Horn 4: F (opt. D) - bb1
Creator's Comments
Nobody personifies the French Impressionistic Period in music more than Claude Debussy (1862-1918). The foremost composer of this style, he tried to embody the ideals of the painters of the identically named era of art who preceded him slightly in history. As with all of the Impressionists, his goal was to create descriptive moods, though the use of rich and diverse colours. He was extremely creative in his consideration of all compositional aspects of music as colour. Not only timbre but harmony, rhythm and melody became less functional (as in the German tradition) and more a colour to be used to suggest a mood.
All three pieces in this album were originally composed for the piano. Le Petit Negre was one of Debussy’s most popular small works, composed in 1909 and first published the same year. Reverie was composed in 1890 and first published the following year. La Soiree dans Grenade is the second movement from the piano work “Estampes”, written and published in 1903.
Performance Notes
The works are well known, and the arrangements are of the highest quality (as is all American Horn Quartet music, even if it’s not in the right key), so the only decision to make is whether music from the French Impressionism fits the concert program or not.