Fantaisie brillante sur Carmen de Bizet (Fantaisie brillante on themes of Bizet’s Carmen)

In the second half of the nineteenth century, a new French school of flute led by Paul Taffanel dominated the fields of composition and performance of this instrument. To this end, many composers of the time devoted much of their catalogue to the creation of works for solo instrument in which the development of the technical and musical capabilities stand out.

Françoise Borne (1840 – 1920), professor at the Conservatoire de Toulouse and flute soloist of the Grand Theatre de Bordeaux, was an authoritative voice in this movement of renewal, and perhaps this Fantaisie Brillante sur Carmen is his most important and enduring composition. In it, Borne uses material from the popular theme of George Bizet’s opera Carmen to create a work full of virtuosity and expressivity.

Manuel Mondéjar presents this version arranged for solo flute and band, where the popular theme of the Cigarreras (cigarette girls), the renowned Habanera, the famous Seguidillas or the triumphal Toreador Song are some of the themes used in this work, considered a classic in the flute repertoire of the late nineteenth century.