Un Voyage Extraordinaire - André Chpelitch

An Extraordinary Journey
after Jules Verne
Rhapsody for Clarinet and Concert Band

First performed on March 14, 201 9 in the Cathedral St Louis des Invalides
by Paul Meyer and L'orchestre d'harmonie de la Garde Républicaine conducted by François Boulanger.
Revival on March 21, 2024 at the cathédrale st Louis des Invalides
by Paul Meyer and L'orchestre d'harmonie de l'Air et de l'Espace conducted by Claude Kesmaeker.

Listening to Paul Meyer accompanied by the Orchestre d'Harmonie de l'Armée de l'Air, in March 2017 during the Festival Vents d'Hiver, gave me the idea to write this piece. Paul Meyer encouraged me in this project and left me free as to the composition of the work, wishing nevertheless “music that is listenable, brilliant, fast and lively”.

As I progressed in writing the piece, a figurative and narrative framework gradually emerged, and I could easily imagine atmospheres reminiscent of certain fantastic adventures.

When I heard that César Franck's Symphony in D minor was to be added to the program, I immediately thought of his contemporary Jules Verne, and his Voyages Extraordinaires, with all its worlds teeming with fabulous ideas. The title of my piece quickly came to mind. Lasting approximately 21 minutes, this concerto is structured in 6 sequences that follow one another:

After an offstage introduction by the solo clarinet in a cadenza that introduces the contrasting main theme, the orchestra begins an Allegro 1st section, joined by the soloist. The theme is developed in two heroic variants. In the Andante (2nd part), the clarinet swirls above the Orchestra, which in contrast accompanies it with rhythmic and repetitive formulas, moving from one group of instruments to another, until the solo clarinet reaches a climax of melodic intensity. Calm gradually returns to a counterpoint (3rd part), leading us, after a powerful tutti by the Orchestra alone, to a cadenza by the clarinet. This marks the start of Part 4, with its exotic, jazzy leitmotiv. Part 5 marks the return of the main theme, highly developed and then re-exposed in its original form, leading us into Part 6, where the theme is nostalgically declined by the clarinet. The orchestra again accompanies the soloist with rhythmic and repetitive formulas, moving from one group of instruments to another, until the short, intense final coda, in which the initial theme is heard one last time, in a final call that ends the journey.

André Chpelitch

Duration: 21'

A3 Score and material