Sicilienne (Fauré)

Are you looking for chamber music combining keyboard percussionists and woodwind instrumentalists? Sicilienne by Gabriel Fauré is such a work. Its beautiful, lilting melody is sure to captivate performers and listeners alike.

Program Notes

A sicilienne is a pastoral dance movement in slow 6/8 or 12/8 meter, featuring a lyrical melody using dotted rhythms with an arpeggiated accompaniment, and often in a minor key. This genre was sometimes included within 18th century dance suites.

The Sicilienne of Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) was originally composed in 1893 as incidental music to accompany the play Le Bourgeois gentilhomme by Molière. Unfortunately, the venue for the production went bankrupt, the play was abandoned, and the music was not heard. In 1898, Fauré arranged Sicilienne for cello and piano. The work was published in this form. Later that same year, Fauré was once again engaged to compose incidental music, this time for Maeterlinck’s play Pelléas et Mélisande. The music was orchestrated for small theater orchestra by one of Fauré’s students. In 1909, Fauré orchestrated his own suite of four movements from his music for the play, including the Sicilienne.

Grade Level: 4
Copyright: 2022
Number of Players: 6
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Type: Sextet
Category: Woodwind; Percussion

Instrumentation

Flute
B-flat Clarinet

Glockenspiel
Vibraphone
Marimba 1 [4-octave]
Marimba 2 [4.5-octave]