Very little is known about Pierre Mellarde, even an internet search comes up with virtually nothing, only that the name is probably the Nom-de-Plume of a Mr.R.Price!

The original music was written for Cello & Piano, which I assume is the Solitude A Deux in the title. However, it works beautifully as a Basset Horn solo, subtly accompanied by the Clarinet Quartet, so somewhat like solitude a cinq!!

Stephen Davies

June 2020

Ravel wrote 3 Chansons while waiting to be enlisted in the military during World War 1, and the only piece that he wrote for acapella choir. This is the 3rd movement of that piece, and it makes a great instrumental quartet piece. The song is about adults telling their children not to go into the woods of Ormond because there are monsters there. What makes the song fun is the list names of all of the monsters that reside in these woods. I've added the lyrics on my title page just as a reference, since as an instrumental quartet, this won't be conveyed to your audience. That said, if you didn't know what his piece is about, it's quite charming! This arrangement is for 4 Bb clarinets. There is an optional Eb alto part that can be played in place of the 4th Bb part.