Habanera from the opera Carmen - Saxophone Quartet (SATB) by Georges Bizet Saxophone Quartet - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.899866

Genre: Opera for Chamber Ensemble

Length: 1:45

Instrumentation: Saxophone Quartet (SATB)

Habanera is the popular name for L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Love is a rebellious bird), one of the most famous arias from Georges Bizet's 1875 opera Carmen. During the opera, this aria marks entrance of the title character, a mezzo-soprano role, in scene 5 of the first act. The work is based on a descending chromatic scale followed by variants of the same phrase in first the minor. This fun arrangement for saxophone quartet is sure to be a crowd favorite and includes optional altissimo passages in the soprano and alto parts.

The Composer:

Georges Bizet (1838 – 1875), was a French composer of the romantic era. He is best known for his career in opera, which was cut short by his early death. Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, which has become one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertoire.

The Arranger:

Email: [email protected]

Alex Burden is a Florida born musician and music educator residing in Southwest Florida. There, he teaches band, guitar and music theory at LaBelle High School. LaBelle’s thriving jazz, concert and marching bands consistently receive the highest marks at Contest and the LHS Cowboy Band has received numerous awards under Mr. Burden’s direction, including three consecutive Grand Champion Awards at the High Noon Tournament of Bands (formerly the Heartland Marching Festival). Mr. Burden’s ensembles have performed and received “Gold” ratings at national band festivals including the 2024 Atlanta Heritage Festival and the 2025 Nashville Festival of Gold. Concurrent with his duties at LHS, he also teaches private instrumental music lessons, performs with various ensembles and is a sought after band clinician and adjudicator. He is a member of the Florida Bandmasters Association, the Florida Music Education Association, the National Association for Music Education and the North American Saxophone Alliance. Burden holds degrees from the Bower School of Music and Eastern Florida State where he studied under world renowned saxophonists Mario Bernardo and James Bishop. During his time at the Bower School of music, he served as principle saxophonist in the FGCU Wind Orchestra, lead alto in the Jazz Band Flight: Jazz at FGCU, and played soprano saxophone in the Bower Saxophone Quartet. Alexander was selected to play tenor saxophone in the 2017 National Intercollegiate Band as well as principle alto saxophone in the 2017 Florida All-State Intercollegiate Band and tenor saxophone in the 2016 Florida All-State Intercollegiate Band. In November of 2015, Alexander participated in a critically acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City with the FGCU Wind Orchestra.