Joyeuse marche
Encyclopedia
Joyeuse marche is a popular orchestra piece by the French composer Emmanuel Chabrier
. It is the second half of a pair of orchestral pieces (the other was Prélude pastoral) first performed on 4 November 1888 in Angers
, conducted by the composer. The Joyeuse marche is dedicated to Vincent d'Indy
.
In September 1888 Chabrier wrote to his publisher that he would be orchestrating six piano pieces: what would become his Suite pastorale, and La marche française and the Andante in F. Delage proposes that the Andante was originally performed in 1875 at the Cercle de l'Union artistique in Paris, with Jules Danbé
conducting his orchestra. However, the pieces are also related to Chabrier's Prélude et marche française for piano 4-hands, completed by May 1885, the Andante having by then become a Prélude.
The concert at which the premiere of the Prélude pastoral and Joyeuse marche took place also included the first performance of Chabrier's Suite pastorale and Habañera, España (all conducted by the composer), plus Rossini's William Tell Overture
, Mozart
's Divertimento No. 2 for two horns and strings and the Adagietto from Bizet
's L'Arlésienne.
By the time of the Paris premiere in April 1889, the title had changed to Marche joyeuse. The piece was again enthusiastically received.
The final version of the work's title was reached at a Lamoureux
concert on 16 February 1890, when the march became the Joyeuse marche. However, the Prélude then disappeared until it surfaced among autographs belonging to Robert Brussel in 1943. The Joyeuse marche became particularly popular, and was also played in a piano duet version.
The tempo marking for the march is 'Tempo di marcia molto risoluto e giocoso'.
Emmanuel Chabrier
Emmanuel Chabrier was a French Romantic composer and pianist. Although known primarily for two of his orchestral works, España and Joyeuse marche, he left an important corpus of operas , songs, and piano music as well...
. It is the second half of a pair of orchestral pieces (the other was Prélude pastoral) first performed on 4 November 1888 in Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
, conducted by the composer. The Joyeuse marche is dedicated to Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
.
Background
The march went through several versions before arriving at the popular orchestral version known today.In September 1888 Chabrier wrote to his publisher that he would be orchestrating six piano pieces: what would become his Suite pastorale, and La marche française and the Andante in F. Delage proposes that the Andante was originally performed in 1875 at the Cercle de l'Union artistique in Paris, with Jules Danbé
Jules Danbé
Jules Danbé was a French conductor, mainly of opera, born in Caen on 16 November 1840, and died 30 October 1905. Trained as a violinist, he was a pupil of Girard and Savard, in 1859 winning a first prize for violin...
conducting his orchestra. However, the pieces are also related to Chabrier's Prélude et marche française for piano 4-hands, completed by May 1885, the Andante having by then become a Prélude.
The concert at which the premiere of the Prélude pastoral and Joyeuse marche took place also included the first performance of Chabrier's Suite pastorale and Habañera, España (all conducted by the composer), plus Rossini's William Tell Overture
William Tell Overture
The William Tell Overture is the instrumental introduction to the opera Guillaume Tell by Gioachino Rossini. William Tell premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he went into semi-retirement, although he continued to compose cantatas, sacred music and secular vocal...
, Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Divertimento No. 2 for two horns and strings and the Adagietto from Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's L'Arlésienne.
By the time of the Paris premiere in April 1889, the title had changed to Marche joyeuse. The piece was again enthusiastically received.
The final version of the work's title was reached at a Lamoureux
Charles Lamoureux
Charles Lamoureux was a French conductor and violinist.He was born in Bordeaux, where his father owned a café. He studied the violin with Narcisse Girard at the Paris Conservatoire, taking a premier prix in 1854. He was subsequently engaged as a violinist at the Opéra and later joined the Société...
concert on 16 February 1890, when the march became the Joyeuse marche. However, the Prélude then disappeared until it surfaced among autographs belonging to Robert Brussel in 1943. The Joyeuse marche became particularly popular, and was also played in a piano duet version.
The tempo marking for the march is 'Tempo di marcia molto risoluto e giocoso'.
Keyboard versions
- Prélude et marche française for piano 4-hands, completed by May 1885
- Joyeuse marche for piano, four-hands - 1889
- Transcriptions of Joyeuse marche for piano, four-hands for piano (1890) and for two pianos (1891) by Ernest Alder