Cappelli (ed. Crawford) - Piccolo Mosaico from Faust for E-flat Clarinet and Piano

Giuseppe Cappelli - Piccolo Mosaico from Faust, for Eb Clarinet and Piano, edited by Elizabeth Crawford. Piccolo Mosaico is Giuseppe Cappelli’s fantasy on themes from Charles Gounod’s opera Faust. Faust was a five-act grand opera set to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, from Carré’s play Faust et Marguerite and Gérard Nerval’s translation of Part I of Goethe’s Faust. Giuseppe Cappelli’s Piccolo Mosaico begins with Siebél’s aria, Faites-lui mes aveux, also known as The Flower Song, which occurs at the opening of Act III of Faust. A virtuoso passage in the E-flat clarinet brings this lilting section to a close at bar 49. After a pause, Cappelli shifts the mood to the beautiful duet between Faust and Marguerite, Il se fait tard!, from the end of Act III. Cappelli’s transcription of the orchestral tutti leads directly into Marguerite’s beautiful statement of the aria. The section closes with orchestral music from the final scene of Act III, Tenez! Elle ouvre sa fenêre, ietro. Cappelli’s treatment of Gounod’s famous waltz at the end of Act II, Ainsi que la brise légère, is an uplifting conclusion to the work.