Musetta Steps Out (Flute Quartet)

Musetta Steps Out based on Musetta's Waltz from Giacomo Puccini's "La Boheme" (Flute Quartet) by Daniel Dorff, Published by Theodore Presser Company.

Instrumentation

• Piccolo
• Flute
• Alto Flute
• Bass Flute

PROGRAM NOTES
In September 2011, I took a detour (from composing a flute sonata) to create a book of flute/clarinet duet arrangements of favorite Puccini arias, following similar books of Bach and Mozart arrangements.
At the same time, I was filling in for a few months with the Strait Saxophone Quartet which plays a lot of swing arrangements in big-band style. One night at rehearsal I started talking about how so many pop songs from the 1930s and 1940s seem influenced by Puccini's melodic and harmonic style, and that sometimes the resemblance can be pretty strong (for example "Fascination" having the same melodic contour as the main theme of Musetta's Waltz from La Boheme, and "Embraceable You" having a lot in common with Musetta's middle theme.

I joked at rehearsal that someone could arrange Musetta's waltz like a typical swing band chart. It wouldn't sound any different from Tin Pan Alley, and I seemed to be done thinking about it.

The next morning I became engulfed by ideas for converting Musetta's Waltz into a swing saxophone quartet and sang into my dictaphone while driving to work. By the time I got to the office, I had a complete lead sheet (including countermelodies and bass line) sketched out.

When flutist Cindy Anne Broz heard this and saw the score, she was adamant that a transcription for mixed flute quartet would work beautifully, highlight the contrast between Piccolo, C Flute, Alto, and Bass, and get performed frequently. Eventually I yielded to the pressure campaign, and was wowed by how well the flute quartet can swing like a jazz ensemble.

REVIEWS
"My student and I absolutely loved reading this quartet. Most flute students are classically trained in reading music first and then turning to jazz later, if at all. Consequently, my students initially had trouble swinging the eighth notes in the theme. We are very excited to program this piece in the future, and I cannot stress enough how much fun any quartet will have learning and performing this piece, which could be played by high school students but is appropriate for any advanced quartet. Expect this work to be a crowd pleaser when you perform it."
            – The Flutist Quarterly (Ronda Benson Ford), Fall 2018

• Dorff, Daniel

• THEODORE PRESSER COMPANY

• 4 Flutes

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