Dionysiaques

From Wind Repertory Project

Florent Schmitt

The work bears the designation Opus 62, No. 1.

Contents
1 General Info
2 Instrumentation
3 Errata
4 Program Notes
5 Commercial Discography
6 Audio Links
7 State Ratings
8 Performances Florent Schmitt
9 Works for Winds by this Composer
10 References

General Info
Year: 1913
Duration: c. 10:10
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Durand
Cost: Score and Parts - Out of print

Instrumentation
Full Score
Piccolos I-II
Flutes I-II
Oboes
English Horn (optional)
Bassoons (optional)
Contrabass Sarrusaphone in C (optional)
E-flat Clarinet I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet Solo-I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet (optional)
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet(optional)
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Bass Saxophone (optional)
C Trumpets
B-flat Cornet I-II-II-IV
B-flat Trumpet I-II
E-flat Alto Horn I-II-III
F Horn I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
E-flat Bugle
B-flat Bugle A
B-flat Bugle B
B-flat Baritone Horns
Euphoniums
Tubas
String Bass
Celesta (optional) Timpani
Percussion (four players) including:

Bass Drum
Castanets
Cymbals
Glockenspiel (optional)
Snare Drum
Tambourine
Tam-tam
Tenor Drum
Triangle
Xylophone (optional)

Errata
2nd Cornet, meas. 70: 3rd note: E natural, not E-flat
3rd Trombone, meas. 105: 2nd and 3rd notes: D-flat, not D natural
 1st Trumpet, meas. 105: 3rd note: No need for natural sign

Program Notes
Dionysiaques for Band, Op. 62, No. 1 was composed in 1913. The title relates to the
festivals held in ancient Greece to celebrate Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, drama,
and other enjoyable things. The composition is very descriptive, beginning the celebration
very sensuously, in the lower brasses and winds, with a more yearning theme in the upper
voices. It becomes much busier as the celebration begins to “heat up”. Schmitt uses short
bursts of highly chromatic material to allude to the sense of unpredictability that is often
associated with such alcohol-induced celebrations. After awhile, the first of a series of
jaunty, march-like party themes begins. Schmitt’s writing here can be rather difficult for
any wind band, with quick unison trills, gigantic leaps, and alternating tempos. At times,
the celebration seems to be calming down, and just before the end of the piece the music
comes almost to a complete halt, but of course Schmitt has reserved the biggest climax of
all for the end.

Just listening to this composition will help you to understand its complexities and
difficulties in performance. It requires great technical skill and musical acuity. When you
completely immerse yourself in the music, you really can see people dancing!

- Notes from Windbandlit

Dionysiaques was not played until after World War I, during which time Schmitt wrote
primarily for chorus and military band. Finally, in 1923, the work was premiered by the
Garde Républicaine band in the Luxembourg gardens in Paris

- Program note by Michael Votta Jr.

Dionysiaques, a work for mature university or professional ensembles, evades

classification. Although Schmitt was a French composer who embraced the innovations
of Debussy, this work also displays connections to German Romanticism and such post-
Romantic composers as Stravinsky and Ravel. The score calls for unique instrumentation,
although contemporary groups successfully adapt the work for modern ensembles. This
piece is fairly accessible for audiences, and musicians will enjoy the dramatic stylizations.

- Notes from Great Music for Wind Band

Dionysiaques was composed for the 100-member Garde Républicaine Band in Paris in
1913, mere months after Schmitt attended the premiere performance of Stravinsky’s Rite
of Spring. Its own premiere had to wait until 1925 because of World War I but it has been
performed frequently since the mid-20th century and it now stands as one of the
cornerstone pieces of the early wind band repertoire.

The title comes from the “Dyonisia” – ancient Greek celebrations honoring Dionysus, the
god of wine. He was thought to have provided man with the vineyard, and subsequently
the harvest, winemaking, drunkenness and the means for mystical trances.

The piece itself begins ominously as the low brass and woodwinds set the stage for an
exotic and almost hypnotic journey. Schmitt’s impressionistic tendencies are immediately
evident: wandering melodies emerge in the woodwinds and gradually gain momentum.
Their fluidity is slowly abandoned in favor of festivity, perhaps encouraged by the ‘fluid’
of Dionysus, be it red or white. The bacchanal eventually bursts forth, brimming with
rhythmic vitality and a relentless insistence on partying all the way to the verge of
control, and perhaps a bit beyond.

- Program Note by Cynthia Johnston Turner

Commercial Discography
None discovered thus far.

Audio Links
1928 Recording by the Garde Republican Band (https://www.edrmartin.com/?actio
n=61&newslettre=18&article=187)

State Ratings
None discovered thus far.

Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
Works for Winds by this Composer
Dionysiaques (1913)
Dionysiaques (ed. Hauswirth) (1913/2012)
Dionysiaques (arr. Duker) (1913/1975)
Le Camp de Pompée (1921)
Lied et Scherzo (1910/1988)
Quatuor pour saxophones (1948)
Sélamlik (1906)
Sélamlik (ed. Hauswirth) (1906)

References
"Dionysiaques, Op.62 (Schmitt, Florent)." IMSLP. Web. (https://imslp.org/wiki/Dio
nysiaques,_Op.62_(Schmitt,_Florent))
"Dionysiaques." Windbandlit's Blog. (https://windbandlit.wordpress.com/2011/03/2
4/florent-schmitt-dionysiaques-op-62/)
Nicholson, Chad. (2009). ‘’Great Music for Wind Band: A Guide to the Top 100
Works in Grades IV, V, VI.’’ (http://www.meredithmusic.com/great-music-for-wind
-band) Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications. pp 160-161.

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This page was last edited on 1 December 2019, at 03:46.