Barcarola et Scherzo by Alfredo Casella Chamber Music - Sheet Music

SKU: PR.114424990

ISBN 9798299600827. UPC: 680160698851. 9x12 inches.

BARCAROLA ET SCHERZO has been a staple of the flute repertoire ever since Casella composed it for Gaubert while studying at the Paris Conservatory. Equally inspired by Italian vocal style and French impressionism, Casella takes advantage of the flute’s colors from the top range down to its rich low C. This publication is the first and only modern edition, correcting the original’s errors and clarifying ambiguous notation. It is easy to read and includes a substantial preface by Nicola Mazzanti addressing long-standing questions about tempo and articulation.
Alfredo Casella’s Barcarola et Scherzo: A Youthful Work of Extraordinary Inventiveness Alfredo Casella’s Barcarola et Scherzo, Op. 4, for Flute and Piano is a chamber work that testifies to the precocious talent and vivid musical imagination of the young composer from Turin. Written in 1903 when Casella was just 20 years old, it is part of his early compositional explorations during years of study at the Paris Conservatory under Gabriel Fauré.The piece is dedicated to Philippe Gaubert, who was soon become the celebrated flutist and composer we know today. Both attended the Paris Conservatory at the same years and were strongly attracted to the music of Fauré and Debussy.Even though it is one of Casella’s earliest works, the Barcarola et Scherzo already reveals some of the characteristics of his musical language. The influence of his teacher is evident, especially in the refinement of harmonies and attention to melodic detail. One can also detect echoes of Debussy, especially in the evocative atmosphere of the Barcarola, and a taste for virtuosity that recalls the 19th-century tradition.* * *The Barcarola et Scherzo is a jewel of the chamber repertoire for flute and piano, capable of enchanting through its combination of lyricism and vivacity. The work is an important piece in the flute repertoire from a time when flute was increasingly taking on the characteristics of a solo instrument. It is a meaningful contribution to the early twentieth-century chamber repertoire for flute, combining lyrical expression with technical brilliance. The writing allows the flutist to explore both intimate expressiveness and virtuosic vitality, while the pianist is called to refined timbral control and sensitivity of sound. The rediscovery of this piece contributes to the appreciation of an original and thoughtful Italian voice capable of engaging in dialogue with the broader European repertoire of the time. In my opinion, I don’t feel this work enjoys the popularity it deserves.* * *This new edition aims to contribute to the dissemination of this enchanting piece. At the same time, it seeks to make the text more readable and clarify some important ambiguities contained in the historic Salabert edition.Casella was probably concerned that the piano would overpower the flute in terms of dynamics. In the historical Salabert edition, for example bars 9-11, the composer often avoids a crescendo in the piano part despite the crescendo for the flute. I don’t think such a problem exsts nowdays and the dynamics intended for the flute have been added to the piano.The often-appearing articulation of a slur leading into and overlapping a dot, dash, or accent, may seem ambiguous written for flute. In my research, I saw this used by Casella, Ravel, and Debussy, but always in piano parts. Personally, I think it should be played on the flute with a precise but soft attack with a small diminuendo in the note that still remains linked to the next one.A particularly problematic point appears in bars 55-59 of the Barcarola. Here we have a rhythmic change from 12/8 to 4/4, and back to 12/8. Casella did not write what equivalance we should use at this point, as he does in other compositions of the period. Perhaps the most academic interpretation is this q. = q at 55, and q = q. at 59. The piano accompaniment seems to support this interpretation. However, the problem remains in the melodic part, where a return to 12/8, would give us an acceleration at a point where the music calms down and returns to the original tempo. I am inclined to keep e = e instead; the flow of the eighths seems more natural and logical and the piano part can be interpreted as a written rhythmic rallentando. I think both solutions are acceptable.— Nicola MazzantiDecember 2025.