Bar 2 - Milhaud, Le Boeuf Sur le Toit

Bonjour, mes amis!   Avant Mozart, Milhaud - Le Boeuf sur le Toit.  I know that some find it repetitive, but it is so joyous, so colorful, so much fun to play!

There are, for the record, 14 iterations of the tune, in all 12 major keys, plus the last 2, in A and C respectively.  I'll save you the trouble of finding the pattern.  The 12 statements, starting in C major, rise sequentially by minor 3rds (C-E-flat, G-flat, A), then slip down a wholestep to G, followed again rising minor 3rds, (G-B-flat, D-flat, E), slipping down a wholestep to D, followed by the last set of minor 3rds (D, F, A-flat, B).  Then it slips down a wholestep to A, and we end up in C, where we started.  I love the ambiguity of the first bar; is it a lead-in, or is it actually the first measure of the tune?

Curiously, the first 12 statements of the tune are orchestrated alike, strings with bassoon, horn, trumpet and trombone, accompanied by the ever-delightful guicharo, a ridged gourd rubbed lengthwise with a stick.  The guicharista is therefore the only member of the orchestra who has no concerns about intonation in these passages.  Principal horn risks a hernia in some of the keys.

For such a structurally simple piece, there are tricky and clever passages for virtually every section of the orchestra.  Note the high cello in B-flat minor at 19 after K, the dovetailing pizzicati 5 after N (with one nasty arco bar for the 2nds at the end of the 1st period) underneath a C-sharp minor tune in the 1sts that is awkward in the upper octave.  Violas get their moment in E Major at 14 before the 3/8.  At R, in D minor, the 2nds have a GREAT lick, doubled two octaves down in the celli, over a virtuoso 16th-note passage in flute and clarinet.  After S, there is a laughable 16th-note F major passage in the oboe and horn, over a bassoon arpeggio etude.  Lots of exposed trumpet.  Trombone and basses get a workout as well; fun for the whole family.  Frequent polytonality presents a rehearsal challenge, as well as balance concerns.  I myself like to encourage anybody playing in a key other than the primary key to let loose; the more sonic chaos, the better.

To get the right feel of the piece requires some imagination; it must have some swing, some inflection and some creative gesture from the podium (shake it!).  Go ahead, get your choro on!