Pillevestre (arr. Johnston) - Premier Offertoire for Bass Clarinet and
The Premier Offertoire by Jules Pillevestre was published by French publishing company Evette & Schaeffer in 1890 and is considered to be the first work published for bass clarinet in France. While the original intent of this edition was to create an urtext, as close to the original as possible, because it was seemingly originally intended to be performed with accompaniment by organ (or perhaps harmonium), adjustments were made to make it more appropriate for accompaniment by piano. Additionally, some liberties were taken in adding dynamics to both the solo and accompaniment part in order to make it a more well-rounded piece and interesting to the players. While a fairly simple composition overall, its publication surely brought a certain legitimacy to the instrument, eventually allowing it to blossom during the 20th century and evolve into the instrument we have today.