Les animaux fantastiques - Olivier Calmel

Les animaux fantastiques (The Fantastic Beasts) - Olivier Calmel

'There are no strange creatures. Only blinkered people.'

Ten sequences for woodwind ensemble
Commissioned by the Conservatory of La Roche-sur-Yon Agglomeration

The Fantastic Animals set to music the creatures of the wizarding world created by J. K. Rowling. The author's writings present numerous animals, some of which have their origins in the ancestral legends of mythical beings, such as the elves, the basilisk, the centaur, the sphinx, etc.

This suite of sequences for heterogeneous woodwind ensembles includes, depending on the movement, piccolo, large flute, oboe, English horn, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone and bassoon, and is presented as a collection of pedagogical pieces of various levels, from the first cycles to the advanced learning cycles.

The most emblematic creatures of the pantheon imagined by Joanne Rowling are set to music according to original and specific thematic, rhythmic, harmonic and sound characteristics. Each movement develops a musical universe where the techniques and modes of play are naturally structuring: pizz, multiphonics, breath, percussion, didgeridoo, voices and sounds, tongue ram, parlando...

The Fantastic Animals sequences can be performed independently, or as a suite whose order is defined ad libitum by the performers.


I. Leprechaun (C2) - Lively and cheerful
II. Moon Goose (C1) - Moderate
III. Triton (C3) - Slow
IV. Abraxan (C2) - Andantino
V. Basil (C3) " Sia has sieth " - Spirito / Presto Furioso
VI. Velan (C1) Expressive / Allegro Vivace
VII. Demon Wonder (C3) - Allegrissimo
VIII. Demiguise (C1) - Adagietto
IX. House Elf (C1) - Andante
X. Sphinx (C2 + C3) - Largo / Vivace


'There are no strange creatures. Only blinkered people.'
Norbert Dragonneau, Les animaux fantastiques: Les crimes de Grindewald


Duration: 33'