Printed set (Score & Parts)
Eb Clarinet
4 Bb Clarinets
2 Bb Bass Clarinets
Eb Contra-alto Clarinet
This is the second of two orchestral works composed by Liszt in 1860, inspired by the drama "Faust" by poet Nicklaus Lenow, "Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke (The Dance in the Village Inn)". It was later arranged for piano and is widely known as "Mephisto Waltz No. 1". The song is made by the following episode in a rather descriptive manner.
"There is a wedding feast in progress in the village inn, with music, dancing, carousing. Mephistopheles and Faust pass by, and Mephistopheles induces Faust to enter and take part in the festivities. Mephistopheles snatches the fiddle from the hands of a lethargic fiddler and draws from it indescribably seductive and intoxicating strains. The amorous Faust whirls about with a full-blooded village beauty in a wild dance; they waltz in mad abandon out of the room, into the open, away into the woods. The sounds of the fiddle grow softer and softer, and the nightingale warbles his love-laden song."
The intense ending almost seems like the ridiculous laugh of Mephisto.
This arrangement was commissioned by Tokyo Rissho High School for its 2002 ensemble contest. Making the most of the dynamic range and keeping a strong beat is key to sounding like Liszt.
Solo from bar 204 may be easier to play on alto clarinet, but a bass clarinet is more effective.
If possible, it would be better to tacet the Bbclarinet from bar 220 to 239 and use the bass clarinet solo.
(Takeo Kimura)
