Variations on "Carnival of Venice," for trumpet by Jean-Baptiste Arban

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Wynton Marsalis performs Variations on "Carnival of Venice," for trumpet by Arban, Jean-Baptiste on the following:

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Fabulous virtuosic. -Classics Today

1. Tuba Carnival

#5179784

Performer(s): Øystein Baadsvik, Dorota Siuda

Conductor(s): Bjørn Sagstad, Dorota Siuda

Ensembles(s): Musica Vitae

Label: BIS

Number of Discs: 1

Total time: 61:17

Regular Price: $16.98

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About This Work

Through the last two-thirds of the nineteenth century, the tune "Carnival of Venice" was the basis of innumerable instrumental showpieces, usually in variation form. Many different composers wrote versions for violin, clarinet, even guitar. Inevitably, the melody found its way to the bandstand as a virtuoso workout for cornet or trumpet. Herbert L. Clarke wrote one popular treatment, but before his came a set of variations by Jean-Baptiste Arban, the cornet professor at the Paris Conservatory and the author of a highly influential cornet and trumpet method book. "The cornet should possess fine style and grand method," Arban insisted, and his Carnival of Venice variations require both of the cornet or trumpet soloist. The piece exists in versions with concert band and simply with piano; it has been recorded by artists as diverse as Gerard Schwarz, Wynton Marsalis, and Harry James. It's a fine bravura work that doesn't immediately reveal its flashy intentions. It begins with the band or piano playing a fragment of the tune; the cornet enters very soon, already offering a lyrical variation on the melody even though it hasn't been presented in full. In the first of its periodic "break strains," the band plays a lilting variant of its own, whereupon the cornet returns with the complete tune in waltz form, followed by a highly ornate little variation. The ensuing variations grow increasingly intricate, requiring fearsomely rapid tonguing, great reserves of breath, and also sensitivity to dynamic nuances -- some of the most difficult passages must be played softly. At the end, the soloist must play the melody in spaced-out, staccato notes while filling the gaps with rapid Flight of the Bumblebee-style figures, then ascending to the top of the instrument's range for a last flourish. ~ All Music Guide