Premiere Offertoire by Jules Pillevestre, arranged for bass clarinet and string quartet by Matt Johnston

From the arranger: "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. Though originally composed for “Bass Clarinet and Piano or Organ”, the way the accompaniment is notated, as well as a title most associated with the church, makes it clear that it was most likely intended to be accompanied by an organ (or possibly a harmonium) and that perhaps the piano was an afterthought. After completing a new edited version for bass clarinet and piano, I thought it could be interesting to go back and try to emulate the sound of the organ with a string quartet, and thus, this edition came to existence. Some liberties have been taken with regards to dynamics as well as slurs and phrasing in the strings, however, the spirit of the piece is still intact and I hope this will give new life to a piece that was surely part of the evolution of the legitimacy of the instrument so long ago."

Instrumentation:

• Solo Bass Clarinet
• Violin I
• Violin II
• Viola
• Cello