IlEstBelEtBon

Il Est Bel Et Bon

Pierre Passereau (1509-1547) was a Renaissance composer from France who specialized in light- hearted chansons. One of his favorite techniques was using nonsense language to imitate animals, which is vividly shown in this piece, Il est bel et bon, featuring a delightful staccato quasi-round that emulates clucking chickens. The frivolous text refers to two gossiping women extolling their husbands’ diligence in doing the chores and, yes, feeding the chickens.

Originally written for four vocal parts, my new arrangement now makes the enjoyable classic accessible to three-part choirs for the first time. Opportunities abound for heightened dynamic contrasts as well as sudden dramatic switches between staccato and legato. The almost comedic text offers the chance to tell the story in vivid musical colors. Keep the tempo fast and bouncy without sacrificing accuracy and clarity, and choirs will fall in love with this piece all over again.

This arrangement, which is a part of the Rollo Dilworth Choral Series, can be purchased at Hal Leonard or any of its distributors.

Well, that was dumb: I accidentally updated to macOS Sequoia. I thought I was updating to the latest Sonoma. And I didn't do a TM backup beforehand. I'm hoping all my software is compatible. I usually have to wait several months before all my software suites is safely certified.

#ForYourConsideration Aaron Lazar’s IMPossible Dream album! It's in the Best Traditional Pop Album (Jazz category). We got to work with @joshgroban, Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris, Lin Manuel Miranda, and so many more. It's been one of the most important projects of my…

An important career PSA for my fellow musicians: tell people about your passions. Tell people about your goals. Do not be shy about the gigs you dream about. You never know who has the ability to put you on a path that accomplishes them, if they were made aware.

Load More