La belle aventure, vol. 2

This collection offers close to one hundred original works, written at my request by some twenty Canadian composers. They are short works—often miniatures—but they are, especially, works of high quality, either fun or serious and intended to be played by students in their first to sixth year of study on the clarinet. They were all composed between 2014 and 2018.

“La belle aventure” is a project intended to introduce young musicians to Quebec and Canadian composers. I ardently hope that it will foster in them the desire to play our composers’ works, from the earliest years of their music studies.

The first three workbooks present pieces for unaccompanied clarinet, grouped according to their degree of difficulty: beginner, intermediate, an advanced.

A fourth workbook will propose duets and trios without accompaniment, and subsequent ones will include pieces with piano.

For experienced composers, writing these works was particularly challenging, as their demands are very restrictive and at the same time very stimulating. Over twenty composers have successfully met this challenge.

As a version of reference for young clarinetists, I recorded all the pieces in the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal concert hall under the supervision of sound engineer Anne-Marie Sylvestre. These recordings are available online.

Jean-Guy Boisvert