PARTITIONS GRATUITES : SAXOPHONE ALTO, PIANO
- Simple Suite

SKU: HL.14008392

ISBN 9780711936942.

The story centres on the English princess Caroline Mathilde (1751-1775), sister of George III, who at the age of 15 was sent to Denmark to marry the 17-year-old eccentric and schizophrenic Danish King, Christian VII. The ballet portrays her unhappy marriage, the King's growing madness and her fatal love-affair with Struensee, the King's influential physician, which leads to their arrest, his execution and her exile, at the age of 20, separated from her two young children. In keeping with the period, and perhaps also with the traditions of Romantic ballet, the music is relatively simple in harmony and form, and most of the action is conveyed in set-piece dances. The suite, which consists essentially of the second half of Act I, begins with one of these, a bristling interplay of wind and string ensembles in D major, portraying in the ballet a curious nuptial game with the king and princess on movable pedestals. The slow music that follows has to do with the king's healing by Dr. Struensee and the new queen's unquiet reverie (oboe and cor anglais solos). Then the suite, like the act, is capped by a pair of pas-de-deux, the first savage and bizarre for the royal couple, the second rich and passionate for the queen and the miracle-working doctor. Score (miniature). Duration c. 25mins.

SKU: HL.49002098

ISBN 9790001022453. 8.5x11.75x0.1 inches.

For comparison, Hindemith begins the 'Suite franzosischer Tanze' with the original movements by Pierre d'Attaignant. This is meant to be a demonstration and motivation for the player of today to add on his own little improvisa-tions or ornaments according to his playing skill as it is done with village dance music but even with jazz.The instruments can be freely chosen; this arrangement (piccolo and flute, oboe, English horn, bassoon, trumpet and lute) tries to imitate a group consisting of recorders, shawm, crumhorn, dulcian etc.