Bizet-Carmen Suite from the Opera arr. Weatherson (SP)-B/ 2V/2X/3M/4T/P

Georges Bizet's Carmen (1875), his most well known composition and loved the world over, provides the source material for this arrangement for percussion ensemble. The order of the movements are:

1. Les Toréadors
2. La Garde Montante
3. Habanera
4. Aragonaise
5. Danse Bohème

This arrangement is subtitled 'Suite from the Opera' as it draws upon material from both orchestral suites and presents the movements as close as possible to the order in which they appear in the opera; the only difference is the placing of the Danse Bohème (Act 2) as the final movement, rather than the Aragonaise (Act 4).

The rich melodic material of Bizet's writing provides many solo opportunities for the mallet percussion instruments. As well as the many vocal lines given to each of the instruments, two xylophones play the piccolo duet in La Garde Montante while a marimba plays the trumpet fanfares; the xylophones again share a duet role in the opening of the Danse Bohème.

The arrangement is for 10 players and requires glockenspiel, 2 xylophones, 2 vibraphones, 3 marimbas (including one 5 octave instrument), percussion (tambourine, triangle, bass drum and cymbals) and 4 timpani. Two mallet playing is used throughout on all mallet instruments.

Number of players: 10
Difficulty: Intermediate/advanced

Instrumentation

Player 1: Glockenspiel
Player 2: Xylophone 1
Player 3: Xylophone 2
Player 4: Vibraphone 1
Player 5: Vibraphone 2
Player 6: Marimba 1 (4 octave)
Player 7: Marimba 2 (4 octave)
Player 8: Marimba 3 (5 octave)
Player 9: Bass drum w/cymbal attachment, triangle, tambourine
Player 10: 4 timpani