DiVent wind ensemble: "España olé!" - Bizet's "Carmen" as harmony music

Théodore Gouvy's Petite Suite Gauloise for wind sonata was composed in 1888 but not published until after his death. Written only three years after Charles Gounod's Petite Symphonie for the same instrumentation - Gounod's wind sonata had been commissioned by Paul Taffanel, the founder of the famous wind ensemble Société à des Instruments à Vent - it is reasonable to assume that Taffanel may also have approached Gouvy with a request for a similar work. The Suite Gauloise consists of four short movements with titles reminiscent of Baroque suites. It begins with a slow, sombre introduction, which is followed by a rather determined, dignified minuet. The second movement, Aubade, is a gentle, solemn procession. This is followed by the Ronde de nuit, which begins with a horn signal, and then Dance of the Night: initially somewhat eerie, the mood lightens and becomes livelier. The Tambourin finale is lively, bright and playful.

Carmen is still one of the most popular and most frequently performed works in the operatic repertoire today. Georges Bizet's opera tells the tragic story of the passionate gypsy Carmen in Seville, who seduces the soldier Don José and drives him mad. José leaves his fiancée Micaëla for her, deserts and becomes a smuggler. When Carmen turns to the torero Escamillo, the jealous José stabs her out of obsession. Carmen's character alone would have caused a scandal. Then there was her violent death, Bizet's musical innovations and the opera's three-hour-long performance! All of this was too much for the Parisian audience of the time - but the Divent wind ensemble performs it in a pocket version.

Pocket opera in 75 minutes: George Bizet's "Carmen" as harmony music

Excerpts from Bizet's opera "Carmen"
arranged for wind sonet by Andreas N. Tarkmann
Libretto in short version presented by Gabriel Schwyter

Théodore Gouvy: Petite Suite Gauloise

George Bizet: Suite from "Carmen"

Janine Odermatt, flute
Yoko Jinnai, Shoko Miyake, oboes
Urs Bamert, Gabriel Schwyter, clarinets and bass clarinet
Federico Loy, Katalin Cziegler, bassoons
Patrick Gasser, Kumiko Jöhl, horns


Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.

Seat reservations: [email protected]