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

This fanfare justifies itself in performance. The writing sits perfectly for brass instruments, with clear doublings and effective ranges that allow young and experienced players alike to deliver genuine brilliance without strain. It's short enough to command a full audience without wearing out your section, yet substantial enough to serve as a genuine concert opener that signals something significant is about to happen.

A herald's call translated into French sophistication. The music glows with ceremonial energy and linear elegance, neither bombastic nor apologetic, with the kind of propulsive grandeur that lifts an audience the moment the first chord sounds. Dukas balances brilliance with restraint, delivering genuine splendor without excess.

Brass players at intermediate to advanced levels who want to experience ensemble writing from the French orchestral tradition. This work suits any brass section (or full band/orchestra) capable of playing together with security and musicality, making it accessible for high school ensembles and above.

• Balance the three trumpet parts carefully so no single voice dominates; this is ensemble writing, not a trumpet feature. The horns anchor the harmony and deserve to be heard.
• Work the rhythmic precision between the trumpet and horn lines in the opening section; slight drag here will obscure Dukas's crafted clarity.
• Shape the dynamic arcs in longer phrases rather than treating each measure as a separate unit. The fanfare builds through construction, not just volume.
• If using the transposed parts, confirm that all players have their correct edition before rehearsal to avoid confusion in doubled sections.

Position this at the start of a concert to establish a formal or celebratory tone, or pair it with other French orchestral works and ballet excerpts to build a thematic set. Its brevity and impact make it an ideal transition or interlude between larger pieces.

• Balancing multiple simultaneous melodic lines in a harmonic texture
• Executing clean ensemble attacks and releases across four instrumental families
• Reading transposed parts (original and transposed trumpet and trombone versions)
• Shaping musical architecture through dynamic control rather than by measure