Bizet's Carmen Suite has been arranged for cello octet by Carsten Jaspert, German-born cellist of the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover and former Principal Cellist of the Folkwang Kammerorchester in Essen. Outside of his orchestral career, Jaspert has been a member of the Helian Quartet since 2005 and regularly writes arrangements for cello ensembles.

I’ve chosen three movements of the Orchestra-Suites and the aria of Don José "La fleur que tu m’avais jeté". The first movement is the Prélude to the opera, the second starts with a small introduction containing a motive of the transition to the first act of the opera and leads into the aria as a solo for the first cello. It could be helpful for the accompanying parts (cellos 2-8) to play this movement with mutes. The third movement is a kind of intermezzo: the Entr’acte between second and third act of the opera, and the fourth movement is the famous Chanson Bohême.

--Carsten Jaspert

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