Fanfare pour preceder La Peri (La Peri Fanfare): Brass Duo & Ensemble, Choir, Conductor Score & Parts (LUDWIGMASTERS)

This fanfare has earned its place in concert programming for good reason. The writing is brilliant and focused, packing maximum impact into a compact form that sits perfectly at the beginning of a concert or as a standalone showpiece. The orchestration demonstrates Dukas' mastery of brass color and architectural clarity, making it rewarding to rehearse and genuinely exciting to perform.

A summons in sound. Dukas strips away orchestral color and builds pure brass fanfare, bright, commanding, suffused with French elegance but unapologetically dramatic. The harmonic vocabulary sits within traditional tonality yet moves with enough forward momentum to feel urgent and alive.

This work speaks directly to brass directors looking for a substantial, concert-worthy opener that showcases section strength without requiring extensive rehearsal time to execute at a high level. It suits ensembles with competent principal brass players and works equally well in a full band or orchestra context.

• Balance the opening announcement between the three trumpet lines so the primary melodic voice emerges clearly while the supporting trumpets provide harmonic weight without overshadowing.
• Shape the repeated brass chords with slight dynamic breathing rather than treating each chord as static; this prevents the section from feeling blocky and maintains forward momentum.
• Coordinate horn entrances with the brass ensemble to ensure they blend seamlessly into the full sonority rather than puncturing through it.
• Take advantage of the transposed parts included in this edition: use trumpet and trombone parts in bass clef for players who read more comfortably in those clefs, which can dramatically improve ensemble precision under pressure.

Program this as a concert opener to command immediate attention and establish a festive or ceremonial tone for the program to follow. It also functions brilliantly as an interlude between larger works or as a standalone feature that allows the brass section to shine on a concert dominated by full ensemble repertoire.

• Playing balanced and blended chord attacks in a large brass ensemble
• Reading transposed parts and converting between concert pitch and multiple clefs
• Executing articulate, rhythmically precise brass fanfare writing
• Understanding the role of brass sectional independence within a unified sonority
• Sustaining tone quality and intonation through repeated chordal sections