What we needed was a piece to close the first half of the concert, themed around “France,” that had fire. And of course, the French have plenty of that, but for wind orchestra, we just couldn’t find anything that really fit. So, I took the Farandole (by Ernest Guiraud, based on melodies from L’Arlésienne by …
Just that. Recorded as part of the Digital Youth Orchestra Esslingen 2020. The ballad-style intro from the final episode of the series is noticeably more concertante and can optionally be omitted.
“This suite, composed in a predominantly chamber music style, is derived from the soundtrack of the anime of the same name and includes a minimalist reworking of the pirate song ‘Binks’ Sake’ for percussion and piano.
In addition to a brief introduction, this suite incorporates three titles from the eponymous film: ‘Just Around the Riverbend’, ‘Colors of the Wind’, and ‘Farewell’. It can be performed with a solo instrument (alto saxophone or flugelhorn) or a vocalist.