Meditation from 'Tha•ïs' (Massenet)

This lovely, reverent melody of the Meditation from 'Thaïs' has become a standard performance work by flutists everywhere. The delicate, lyrical lines of the flute solo part are supported well with refined band accompaniment. Moments of peace and tension coexist beautifully in this outstanding work.

Genre: Solo Flute with Band | # of Players: Standard + 1
Level: 3 | Duration: 5:00

Instrumentation
Solo Flute

2nd Flute
Oboe*
1st Bb Clarinet
2nd Bb Clarinet
3rd Bb Clarinet
Bb Bass Clarinet*
Bassoon*
1st Eb Alto Saxophone*
2nd Eb Alto Saxophone*
Bb Tenor Saxophone*
Eb Baritone Saxophone*

1st Bb Trumpet
2nd Bb Trumpet
1st F Horn
2nd F Horn
1st Trombone
2nd Trombone*
Euphonium
(TC Baritone)
Tuba

String Bass*

Timpani*

Parts marked with an asterisk (*) are NOT ESSENTIAL, although their presence will obviously enable a fuller realization of the composer's intention to be achieved.

Program Notes
The French composer, Jules Massenet benefited from having a musical mother who was his first teacher until, aged 11, he was accepted for the Paris Conservatoire.

Money was short, and as a student, Massenet earned a pittance amount playing the triangle at a theatre. Later, he was a drummer three nights a week at the Theatre-Lyrique which as well as providing a knowledge of instrumentation also developed a life-long appreciation of music for the theatre.

Massenet's romantic opera, Thaïs, was first produced in Paris in 1894. The story is set in Thebes, Egypt, where Thaïs, a beautiful courtesan, rules the city of Alexandria by the power of her charms.

In the Meditation, originally a violin solo accompanied by a small orchestra including two harps, Massenet vividly captures the sense of allure and charm with which Thaïs beguiles her suitors, her wiles personifying the struggle between the higher and the lower nature in the human race. A solo flute is featured in this arrangement.