About the Music

We thank Dr. Timothy Bonenfant for sharing the following notes about his arrangement of a collection of works by Cécile Chaminade for bass clarinet and piano.

Cécile Chaminade was born in Paris in 1857 and died in Monte Carlo in 1944. She published over 400 works in her lifetime. While there were other women who wrote a comparable amount of music, the fact that her music was published as well was a rarity for a woman of her era. Her music had fallen out of favor during the 20^th century due to a combination of changing tastes and the socio-aesthetic conditions affecting women and their music. More recently, her music has been performed more often than in her final years and after WWII, with the exception of her Concertino for Flute, which has never left the standard repertoire of that instrument.

This collection features mostly transcriptions of her songs, although there are two arrangements of two pieces for either two pianos or piano four-hands. We know that two of the transcriptions were arranged by Chaminade herself, as they are listed in her works list and have opus numbers assigned to them. We know of the existence of the set from a recording by cellist Cecylia Barczyk and pianist Madeleine Stucki from 2000, “Belle Epoque: Works for Piano and Cello.” The five movements are as follows:

The first is piece Sommeil d’Enfant for voice and piano, arranged by Chaminade for cello and piano as her op. 125. It was written in the key of D, and Chaminade maintains this key for the cello version. It is dedicated a Madame Poilpot.

The second is another song, L’Anneau d’Argent from Chamninade’s Twenty Songs of 1891. While the composer originally wrote the song in the key of F, the unidentified arranger moved this version to the more cello friendly key of D. We have kept the bass clarinet arrangement to D as well.

Pastorale Enfantine, op. 12, was originally for two pianos. Ernest Alder arranged this work for violin (or flute) and piano, and this is the version that was used as the basis for the bass clarinet arrangement (with guidance from the referenced recording). The key has been moved from D for the violin arrangement to A for the cello recording, and we have kept the cello key for bass clarinet. Chaminade dedicated this work à ma nièce Antoinette Chaminade, who apparently was close enough to her aunt that she served as Chaminade’s caretaker in later life, and who attempted to promote Chaminade’s music after her death.

Movement four is La Chaise à Porteurs, the second movement from Chaminade’s Pieces Romantiques, op. 55 (1890 )for piano four-hands. We know that the composer wrote this arrangement as it is labeled as op. 55b. Both the piano four hands original and the cello arrangement are in the key of a minor. This work is dedicated a ma petite amie Jeanne Costallat.

The last work of the set, Nuit Étoilée, is another song, wriiten for Maidmoiselle Cécile Ketten. The song and the cello version share the key of D major. The arranger for this particular piece is unknown to this writer.

Piano score: 22 pages; part: 11 pages. Extended range instrument NOT required.

The following playlist includes the recordings which Dr. Bonenfant referenced in the process of arranging the works:

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About the Arranger

Timothy Bonenfant is a member of Dos Gatos, The Mesquite Trio, The Batik Quartet, and the West Texas Jazz Orchestra. He holds three degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a master’s degree from California Institute of the Arts.

Bonenfant has premiered over seventy works, many written especially for him, including Virko Baley's Partita No. 4 for clarinets (bass, A, Eb and Bb contrabass) and piano, and Stephen Emmons’ Seaside and States of Mind. Bonenfant was also one of the performers on the world premiere performance of Arthur Gottschlak’s The Electric Pocket Rocket Boogaloo for bass clarinet ensemble.

With multiple recording credits, Bonenfant’s solo album, Multiple Personae, features music by Virko Baley. Bonenfant uses seven different members of the clarinet family for this collection. The Clarinet, the journal of the International Clarinet Association, said of this album “Throughout this recording, Bonenfant displays his virtuosity performing almost the entire family of clarinets.”

His playing is also featured on Walter Blanton’s The Body of a House, performing Blanton’s Wind Songs One, which was specifically composed for him. Additionally, Blanton featured his bass clarinet playing as a guest artist on the album Voyage from The Past performed by Blanton’s jazz group Dharma. Steve Horowitz included Bonenfant’s performance of his solo work on The Evening News, which Horowitz composed for him and is featured on his album of chamber music San Francisco 1990-1996.

Bonenfant has developed an international reputation as an extremely versatile clarinetist. He has performed at multiple International Clarinet Association ClarinetFests, at the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music at the United States National Conference, at the International Double Reed Society Conference, the American Single Reed Summit, numerous College Music Society conferences, and presented performances and panel sessions at the National Association for College Wind and Percussion Instructors Conference.

He has worked with composers Steve Reich, John Adams, Paul Dresher, Arthur Gottschalk, Libby Larsen, Dana Kaufman, Monica Houghton, Cara Haxo, Dorothy Hindman, Nolan Stoltz, Edwin London, and Ivan Karabitz,

He has also performed with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Luca Ferrini, Theodore Bikel, Sandy Patti, Toni Tenille, Monica Mancini, The Village People, The Moody Blues, Louie Bellson, Joe Williams, Bobby Shew, Gary Foster, and Carl Fontana.

A former member of the Nevada Symphony Orchestra and the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Bonenfant’s ensemble credits also include the Houston Symphony Orchestra, Abilene Philharmonic, San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, Boise Symphony Orchestra, Nevada Opera Theater, and various groups on the Las Vegas Strip.

In addition to those in the United States, Bonenfant’s has performed internationally in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, and Sweden. His major teachers include Felix Viscuglia, William Powell, Alberto Asercion, Raphael Sanders, Marina Sturm and Michele Zukovsky.

Dr. Bonenfant is currently Professor of Single Reeds at Angelo State University, where he also has taught Introduction to Music, History of Jazz, History of American Popular Music, Survey of Rock and Roll, Improvisation, and Woodwind Methods.