''Joyeuse marche'' is a popular orchestra piece by the French composer
Emmanuel Chabrier
Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and pianist. His Bourgeoisie, bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked ...
. 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 (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...
, conducted by the composer. The ''Joyeuse marche'' is dedicated to
Vincent d'Indy
Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Par ...
.
[Delage R. ''Emmanuel Chabrier''. Fayard, Paris, 1999.]
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: four pieces from his piano suite ''
Pièces pittoresques
''Pièces pittoresques'' (''Picturesque pieces'') are a set of ten pieces for piano by Emmanuel Chabrier. Four of the set were later orchestrated by the composer to make his ''Suite pastorale''.
Background
In 1880, while on a convalescent holiday ...
'' (which would become his ''
Suite pastorale
Suite may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition
** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach
** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó
** ''Suite ...
''), as well as ''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 (16 November 1840 – 30 October 1905) was a French violinist, composer and conductor, mainly of opera.
Biography
Danbé was born in Caen, Calvados. Trained as a violinist, he was a pupil of Narcisse Girard and Marie Gabriel Augu ...
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
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
'' (all conducted by the composer), plus Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
's ''William Tell Overture
The ''William Tell'' Overture is the overture to the opera ''William Tell'' (original French title ''Guillaume Tell''), whose music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, af ...
'', Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
's Divertimento No. 2 for two horns and strings and the Adagietto from Bizet
Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...
'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'.
]
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[
]
Instrumentation
Strings; 2 flutes, 1 piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B flat, 4 bassoons; 4 horns in F,Norman Del Mar
Norman René Del Mar CBE (31 July 19196 February 1994) was a British conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialised in the music of late romantic composers; including Edward Elgar, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. H ...
notes that Chabrier frequently asks the horns to play ''bells up'': "there is no substitute for the sheer riotous hilarity of Chabrier’s ''Joyeuse Marche''...". Del Mar N. ''Anatomy of the Orchestra''. Faber & Faber, London, 1981.
References
{{Authority control
Compositions by Emmanuel Chabrier
March music
Compositions for symphony orchestra
Compositions for piano four-hands
1888 compositions