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"Carnival of Venice" - Very Old, Traditional Folk Song - Now a Virtuoso Piece for Wind Players


DonRocks

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I don't know the origins of the folk song, "Carnival of Venice"; only that it's pretty old (certainly 150-years if not much more), and I don't know who wrote it, or even what country it's from. 

But it is *very* popular - part of the standard classical repertoire - for wind instruments, particularly the trumpet and cornet, and is a virtuoso piece - a showpiece, that players use to display their technical skills on their instrument.

I don't mean to burst anyone's bubble with these three videos, but I suspect most people here have heard of Al Hirt, and many people here have heard of Wynton Marsalis (both from New Orleans, btw). Very few of our readers will know about the legendary French trumpet player, Maurice André, but my hope is that after examining this post, he will be familiar to you.

These are three videos displaying two different levels of playing. Unfortunately, Al Hirt (who played the theme song from "The Green Hornet") comes across as something like Liberace here: a showman, without any of the technical skill necessary to perform a piece such as "Carnival of Venice." This video is *not* meant to bust on Al Hirt, whom I really enjoy; it's just to show how devilishly difficult this piece is to play, and if you haven't been practicing it, then you're dead meat.

Al Hirt:

This may sound impressive, but Marsalis and André play it on another level entirely. You can decide for yourselves whether you like Marsalis' technically perfect, virtuoso recording, or André's equally virtuosic sound. I have a strong preference for André's recording, as he makes it sound not only easy, but during the final variation, he doesn't "spit" the lower notes - he's so damned good that he can actually use them to create their own melody - I think it's the most remarkable recording of it I've ever heard. (I talked with Marsalis one-on-one back in 1985, so I have every reason for him to be my idol, but I'm also a realist); still, his recording (on the cornet) is, quite literally, awesome.

Wynton Marsalis (if you liked Hirt's performance, this is going to blow your mind):

Maurice André (Do note that this performance is much older, and the accompanying music is *much* more "dated.")

 

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