Le code noir (ouverture) - Louis Clapisson

Louis Clapisson (1808-1866), born in Naples and died in Paris, left a substantial body of work, including this comic opera in three acts, Le code noir, composed in 1842 to a libretto by Eugène Scribe inspired by the novel Les épaves by Fanny Reybaud. It will be given on June 9 of the same year in Paris.


The argument: Donatien, an adopted child who has become a naval officer, goes to Martinique in search of his origins where he is sold at auction as a slave with his mother Zamba, for the benefit of the governor, under the regime of the Code Noir. This comic opera, fallen into oblivion, was revived in public in 2019 and 2020. This work participated in the awareness of slavery, which will lead to its abolition in 1848. The decrees were signed on April 27 by the provisional government of the Second Republic, under the impetus of Victor Schoelcher (1804-1893), journalist and art critic, then deputy and senator.


This transcription for wind band is intended to be as faithful as possible to the original score. May it allow the public to rediscover this music, whose writing is characteristic of its time, and at the same time to remember it.

– piccolo
– flute
– oboe 1 and 2
– A solos clarinets 1 and 2
– bassoons 1 and 2
– Eb clarinet
– Bb clarinets 1,2 and 3
– Bass clarinet
– Alto saxophones 1 and 2
– Tenor saxophone
– Baryton saxophone
– F French Horns 1 and 2
– F French Horns 3 and 4
– C trumpets 1 and 2
– trombones 1, 2 and 3
– euphoniums 1 and 2
– tuba
– Double basses
– Timpani
– percussions

All parts + Score

Duration: 12'