Servais - Concerto Militaire, Op. 18 (Urtext Edition, Piano Version)

Servais composed three concertos for the cello and orchestra as well as a Morceau de Concert (called Concerto No. 2 in the autograph). The Concerto Militaire was the last concerto published during Servais’s lifetime. It was dedicated to King William III (Guillaume III) of the Netherlands. King William III received many other dedications such as

Servais composed three concertos for the cello and orchestra as well as a Morceau de Concert (called Concerto No. 2 in the autograph). The Concerto Militaire was the last concerto published during Servais’s lifetime. It was dedicated to King William III (Guillaume III) of the Netherlands. King William III received many other dedications such as David Popper’s Polonaise Op. 14, Henry Vieuxtemps’s Cello Concerto No. 1, and Ambroise Thomas’s opera Le songe d'une nuit d'été.

The “concerto militaire” subgenre has been explored by many composers after the French Revolution. The works typically include two or three marches, depending on if the slow movement is a funeral march, and usually include an extra set of percussion such as a snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, and a triangle, not typically found in early-Romantic Era concertos. Other representative works from this subgenre include Concerto Militaire by Jacques Offenbach and the Sixth Cello Concerto by Bernhard Romberg.

Servais reused a theme from Souvenir d'Anvers in the G-major section of the Rondo.

Our edition is based on the first edition for cello and piano published by Schott in February 1861. We consulted the orchestral version as well. Some additional fingerings present in the cello cue line of the piano score were inserted into the main text. The sources were graciously provided by the Servais Society.