Pay close attention to the bassoons at the 1:31 mark -- that's got to be one of the best orchestral passages featuring the bassoons ever. Also of note is the big passage at the 3:35 mark, when Chabrier writes a sparkling passage in which it feels as though the sections of the orchestra are playing in two different time signatures.
I was fortunate enough to play this work in college. It's one of the most infectious pieces I know -- its rhythms, constantly dancelike and always just slightly off-kilter with the beat never quite where we expect it, are pure delight, and there are wonderful melodies at play here as well. I love this piece.
3 comments:
That's one fine orchestra, and with Domingo at the helm, perfect. Great review, too. Thanks for starting my day with this!
This is the first time I heard this piece. Wow.
Compile and publish please. So many people need the help of your insight to really appreciate this incredible world.
You're right, at 3:35, first the horns and trumpets, then the clarinets and half of the bassoons, and finally the flutes and piccolos switch from 3/8 to 2/4 time, while everyone else continues in 3/8, building to a climax at 3:46. It's a marvelous way to create the sense of slightly off-kilter and, for a moment, frenzied dance. I can understand why it gave you such delight to play!
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