Periodically, this page focuses on a work by Jean-Pierre Vial.
Ballade de la Guisane
ISWC T-314.854.558.4 Guisane valley

A ballade for Celtic (folk) harp, composed in 2011. The French words Ballade (a dance) and Balade (a walk) sound identically. La Guisane is a river that runs down the valley of Serre-Chevalier near Briançon, France, where locals enjoy going for a walk.

This ballade requires a Celtic (folk) harp because certain strings are subject to special preparation using the tuning levers that control the corresponding strings. The instrument is then prepared (tuned) for the entire duration of the piece. This feature is a characteristic of the Celtic (folk) harp which is not implemented on a pedal harp. Performing this ballade on a pedal harp would therefore be impracticable.

To listen to the ballade (an MP3 clip), click here.

The score of the ballade is published by Musicalion.

This score is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License – NonCommercial – ShareAlike 3.0 France. For any use of this work not covered by this license, you must obtain the permission from SACEM (www.sacem.fr/en).

In July 2018, flutist Iwona Glinka recorded a transcription for two flutes of this ballade (then renamed La marche des canards – Duck march), in her “Two Minutes” album (UPC 660989085582) which includes 2 CD of short pieces, for two flutes, by various composers.

In June 2021, flutist Beth Ratay recorded a transcription for piccolo and alto flute of the ballade (La marche des canards). To watch the corresponding video, click here.