Festive Dance from Faust

This arrangement of Festive Dance from Faust was written by Andrew Glover (see below) in 2003 of the seventh and final ballet from a suite composer Charles Gounod (see also below) prepared from music from the opera Faust in 1869.

From the publisher:

“French composer Charles Gounod created music for the very successful opera Faust, which premiered in 1859. Its plot is based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s book, perhaps the most famous telling of the storied legend, in which Faust gives his soul to the devil in exchange for youth. Nearly a decade after the opera’s premiere, its two librettists suggested that Gounod compose additional music for a ballet sequence to enhance the fourth act. Between September and November 1868, Gounod composed the seven-movement orchestral ballet suite, and the expanded work was first performed at the Paris Opera on March 3, 1869. This spectacular production was highly lauded for its splendor, and one critic exclaimed that Gounod’s music established the composer as “markedly superior” to his contemporaries.

This music soon began to enjoy a second life when excerpted from the opera and performed as a concert work -- first by orchestras, and later by concert bands in the late 1800s. Often under the title Ballet Music from Faust, this charming and exciting music continues to be enjoyed by audiences worldwide. The Festive Dance is the seventh and final movement of Gounod’s ballet suite. Gounod’s score bears the simple title Finale, although in many concert editions it appears under the title Bacchanale. This arrangement was premiered on April 13, 2003, by the Karl L. King Municipal Band of Fort Dodge, Iowa, with the arranger conducting.”

The music varies from very vigorous, rousing episodes to slower, lyrical passages. It ends in with a blazing and stirring finale.

Charles-François Gounod (1818 – 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been Faust (1859); his Roméo et Juliette (1867) also remains in the international repertoire. He composed a large amount of church music, many songs, and popular short pieces including his “Ave Maria” (an elaboration of a Bach piece) and “Funeral March of a Marionette”.

Born in Paris into an artistic and musical family, Gounod was a student at the Conservatoire de Paris and won France's most prestigious musical prize, the Prix de Rome. His studies took him to Italy, Austria and then Prussia, where he met Felix Mendelssohn, whose advocacy of the music of Bach was an early influence on him. He was deeply religious, and after his return to Paris, he briefly considered becoming a priest. He composed prolifically, writing church music, songs, orchestral music and operas.

Gounod's career was disrupted by the Franco-Prussian War. He moved to England with his family for refuge from the Prussian advance on Paris in 1870. After peace was restored in 1871, his family returned to Paris but he remained in London, living in the house of an amateur singer, Georgina Weldon, who became the controlling figure in his life. After nearly three years he broke away from her and returned to his family in France. His absence, and the appearance of younger French composers, meant that he was no longer at the forefront of French musical life; although he remained a respected figure he was regarded as old-fashioned during his later years, and operatic success eluded him. He died at his house in Saint-Cloud, near Paris, at the age of 75.

Few of Gounod's works remain in the regular international repertoire, but his influence on later French composers was considerable. In his music there is a strand of romantic sentiment that is continued in the operas of Jules Massenet and others; there is also a strand of classical restraint and elegance that influenced Gabriel Fauré.

Claude Debussy wrote that Gounod represented the essential French sensibility of his time.

Arranger Andrew Glover’s diverse career in music has included successful tenures as educator, composer, arranger, performer, conductor, clinician, and publisher. He joined the staff of the C. L. BarnhouseCompany in 1998, and as Executive Vice President is in charge of music production, serves as staff composer/arranger and editor, and manages the business as Chief Operating Officer.

A native of the St. Louis area, he was educated in the public schools of Webster Groves, Missouri. He received a Bachelor of MusicEducation degree from Central Methodist University and did graduate work at Southeast Missouri State University. As a sophomore in high school, Glover’s first band arrangement was performed by the school’s wind ensemble, and thus began a multi-decade career in composition and arranging. His band works, which number over 200, have been performed, recorded, and broadcast by bands worldwide.

In college, Glover won a position in the Detroit Concert Band, conducted by Leonard B. Smith, and performed for four seasons on euphonium. He participated in numerous recording sessions with the DCB, including anthology entitled “Gems of the Concert Band” and a documentary film soundtrack. For many years he also performed as a soloist and guest artist.

Glover taught briefly in the public schools of Webster Groves, and served for seven years as Director of Bands at Rosary High School in St. Louis. As a guest conductor, clinician, soloist, and speaker he has appeared in over 35 states. He also worked in the private sector for over a decade in association management.

An enthusiast of, and advocate for, classic concert band music and history, Glover is not only involved in new music production at Barnhouse, but also oversees the company's 130+ year archive of publications and historical memorabilia, and is frequently involved in band history research projects.

He is a member of ASCAP; Association of Concert Bands, where he serves on the advisory council; and is Vice President of Windjammers Unlimited (an historical music society that is dedicated to the preservation of traditional music of the circus). In May 2013 he received the Distinguished Alumni award from Central Methodist University.

The music for Festive Dance from Faust was provided for the band by Paul and JoAnne Jackson.