1878 work ‘Ballets pour des marionnettes’ returns in new piano trio edition

A 19th-century work connecting puppet theatre, pantomime and ballet is being brought into a new piano trio edition for performers and dance practitioners, following its international release scheduled for August 31.

French composer F. Demarquette’s Ballets pour des marionnettes, originally published in Paris in 1878 by Félix Mackar and preserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, has been newly transcribed for piano, violin and cello by pianist Vincenzo Zoppi. The new critical and performance edition is published by German chamber music publisher KammerMusikVerlag.

Zoppi, a lecturer in Music Theory and Practice for Dance at the “E. Ferdinando” Dance High School (Liceo Coreutico) in Mesagne, Italy, specializes in dance accompaniment and chamber music. The new arrangement is intended to provide material for performers, choreographers and dance educators.

Ballets pour des marionnettes is structured as a theatrical suite featuring characters from French literary and popular traditions. Its six sections center on Gargantua, Le Petit Poucet (Hop-o’-My-Thumb), Cendrillon (Cinderella), Monsieur Fagotin, Peau d’âne (Donkeyskin) and Jean Saucisse.

The music moves between contrasting dramatic and movement qualities, from the grotesque exuberance of Gargantua and the cautious movements associated with Le Petit Poucet to the lyrical character of Cinderella, the agility of Monsieur Fagotin, the melancholy of Donkeyskin and the lively rhythms of Jean Saucisse.

The new piano trio arrangement is presented as a resource for the dance world, with potential applications including character dance workshops, variations and ensemble repertoire. It also offers material for students and teachers exploring the relationship between musical structure, movement and theatrical characterization.

Following the publication of the new edition, the work will receive its world-premiere recording. Zoppi will perform on piano alongside violinist Giacomo Mirra and cellist Alberto Senatore.

Mirra is concertmaster of the Nuova Orchestra Scarlatti in Naples, while Senatore is principal cellist at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. The recording will bring the newly edited score to digital platforms, with live performance presentations also planned.

The project aims to make the work available to dance companies, dance schools and dance high schools as a resource for performance and pedagogical research.

The new score is available now through the KammerMusikVerlag catalogue. Recording sessions and live performance presentations will follow.

Ballets pour des marionnettes. Image supplied.