Joel Phillip Friedman
De l'aube à midi
sur le Sous-marin Jaune
Joel Phillip Friedman
www.joelfriedman.com
Commission
Post Classical Ensemble, Angel Gil-Ordóñez, Music Director
The work is dedicated to my friend Angel with thanks!
World Premiere
November 19, 2025, The Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, Washington, D.C. by the Post Classical Ensemble Angel Gil-Ordóñez, Music Director
Further support for this project is in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
© 2025
Joel Phillip Friedman/Grey Bird Music ASCAP
Instrumentation
2 Flutes (1st +Piccolo)
2 Oboes (2nd=English horn)
2 Clarinets in Bb (1st= Bb clarinet, 2nd=+Eb alto saxophone)
1 Bassoon
2 French Horns in F
2 Trumpets in Bb
2 Trombones
2 Percussion*
Harp
Piano
Children’s Chorus (optional adult soloist) Accordion Strings
Optional kazoos for the orchestra
Score in C
* Percussion 1: timpani (optional marching band bass drum or marching cymbals) percussion 2: Glockenspiel Drum “trap Set (PEDAL Bass Drum, snare, hi-hat, Suspended Cymbal)
Duration: Ca. 6 minutes
Materials are available through www.joelfriedman.com
© 2025
Joel Phillip Friedman/Grey Bird Music ASCAP
YELLOW SUBMARINE LYRIC (ENGLISH) John Lennon & Paul McCartney
In the town where I was born, Lived a man who sailed the sea.
And he told us of his life, In the land of submarines.
So we sailed on to the sun, Till we found the sea of green, And we lived beneath the waves, In our yellow submarine.
We all live in a yellow submarine, Yellow submarine, yellow submarine, We all live in a yellow submarine, Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
And our friends are all aboard, Many more of them live next door, And the band begins to play.
We all live in a yellow submarine, Yellow submarine, yellow submarine, We all live in a yellow submarine, Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
As we live a life of ease, Ev'ryone of us has all we need, Sky of blue and sea of green, In our yellow submarine.
We all live in a yellow submarine, Yellow submarine, yellow submarine, We all live in a yellow submarine, Yellow submarine, yellow submarine.
LYRIC (FRENCH) John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Dans la ville , ou je suis né
Vivais un homme qui naviguait sur les mers
Et ils nous conta sa vie
Dans le pays des sous-marins
Alors nous levâmes l'ancre au soleil
Jusqu'a se que nous arrivions à la merte verte
Et nous vivions sous les vagues
Dans notre sous-marins jaune
Nous vivions tous dans notre sous-marin jaune
Sous-marin jaune,sous-marin jaune
Nous vivions tous dans notre sous-marin jaune
Sous-marin jaune,sous-marin jaune
Et nos amis sont tous à bord, Publicité
Beaucoup d'entre eux habitent la porte d'à côté, Et la fanfare commence à jouer
Nous vivions tous dans notre sous-marin jaune
Sous-marin jaune,sous-marin jaune
Nous vivions tous dans notre sous-marin jaune
Sous-marin jaune,sous-marin jaune
Comme nous avons une vie facile, Chacun de nous dispose de tout ce dont il a besoin.
Un ciel bleu, et une mer verte
Dans notre sous-marin jaune.
Performance Notes
There is a distinct theatrical, fantastical, and humorous aspect to “De l'aube a midi sur le Sous-marin Jaune ” It is an aural and visual experience for the audience and performers. It was designed as a companion piece to Debussy’s “La Mer,” with a “surprise reveal” of Lennon & McCartney’s “Yellow Submarine.” Its humor is based upon the original Beatles recording session in May 1966 for the song “Yellow Submarine,” which by all accounts were not unlike a Marx Brother’s skit, extremely funny and anarchically chaotic.
• “De l'aube a midi sur le Sous-marin Jaune” (“From Dawn to Noon On the Yellow Submarine”) is a “mashup” of the opening movement of “La Mer” and “Yellow Submarine ” Therefore, the singer-soloist (followed by the choir) initially sing the Beatle lyric in French. They later switch to the more familiar English When “La Mer” creeps back in towards the end the voices revert to singing in French
o Showing the French and English text on screen (with or without bouncing ball) would be ideal and quite in the style of the work § NB: for singers, the French translation requires some alteration to the original vocal line rhythm
• Ideally, the solo voice would be an adult, think an MC or Compère, think Ringo Starr, but a solo voice from the children’s choir is certainly a practical solution That person could also be the “drum major” and lead the choir offstage at the end (one of the percussionists is another likely choice)
Other theatrical elements include:
• Someone – perhaps the Compère, one of the percussionists or, if necessary, one of the young singers – acting as a Pied Piper “drum major” while playing marching band bass drum (or marching band cymbals) and leading the children’s choir off the stage, through the audience, and exiting the hall at the end
o Whomever performs this role must shout the cue “1-2-3-41” to initiate the Pied Piper exit (m. 126)
o If the percussionists stay on stage playing, a drum major’s mace staff could be substituted and used as a prop, although that is more “Music Man” than “Yellow Submarine.”
o Regardless, it is important that there be theatrical flair to this choice and action.
• There is a wonderful, eccentric sound and voice effects track layered on top of The Beatles’ original song that needs to be replicated in live performance The options for these are:
o Use the supplied three of the four original Beatle audio samples which can be cued and played during performance.
§ These cues are marked in the score and supplied with the score and parts.
o Substituting those audio samples with newly created sound-alike ones
o Perform them live on stage
• It is important that the voices and party sounds heard in the original recording be acted on stage to humorous effect by the performers, whether the sounds are produced live or simply mimed to pre-recorded ones.
o Having orchestral members who are not playing participate in supply the laughing, talking, clinking glasses, etc. adds a wonderful theatrical element to the piece.
• A bullhorn, or cheerleader megaphone, is required for whomever performs John Lennon’s antiphonal shouts (Rehearsal K) whether the part is performed live or mimed to pre-recorded sound The visual element is extremely important.
o FYI: Lennon’s vocal interjections are so imbedded into the original recording that they cannot be easily extracted. Therefore, they need to be either performed live or recreated
• At the procession at the end, it would be delightful to have members of the orchestra play kazoos joining in singing the chorus.
• The drum or trap set percussionist should take their cue from Starr’s performance in terms of its simplicity, appropriateness to the song, groove, and even how the snare is tuned, tight and a bit high A certain amount of improv/embellishment to the part is welcome, but please do not make the part complicated or unstylistic
List of audio files needed (the first three are supplied):
• The Beatles - Yellow Submarine - SFX 1 Ocean
• The Beatles - Yellow Submarine - SFX 2 Party glasses
• The Beatles - Yellow Submarine - SFX 3 Stop Time Machine and Vox Noises
• The Beatles - Yellow Submarine SFX 4 VO – needs to be performed live
Program Note
(NB: these notes are free for use but cannot be altered/edited without the permission of the composer) My friend Maestro Angel Gil-Ordóñez asked me to supply a surprise encore piece for his Post Classical Ensemble’s “The Pale Blue Dot: A Musical Voyage Inspired By Nature program.” SPOILER ALERT: my orchestral piece is a mashup of Claude Debussy’s “La Mer” and John Lennon & Paul McCartney’s song “Yellow Submarine.” If this is meant as a surprise do not use this program note!
There is a distinct theatrical, fantastical, and humorous aspect to “De l'aube a midi sur le Sous-marin Jaune” (“From Dawn to Noon On the Yellow Submarine”). It is meant to be an aural and visual experience for the audience and performers. It was designed as a companion piece to Debussy’s “La Mer,” specifically the opening movement "De l'aube à midi sur la mer" ("From dawn to noon on the sea"), with a “surprise reveal” of Lennon & McCartney’s “Yellow Submarine” emerging from the seaside mists (thus the piece’s title) Its humor is based upon the events of the actual Beatles “Yellow Submarine” recording session in May 1966. By all accounts were not unlike a Marx Brother’s skit, extremely funny and anarchically chaotic.
My piece is in 3 sections: an opening that quotes and re-composes Debussy while hinting at “Yellow Submarine”; a structurally complete performance of the Beatle song arranged for children’s chorus and orchestra; and then an Ivesian return of the Debussy layered on top of the song’s repeated chorus coda In brief: it is a mashup. Subtle alterations were made to both parties’ music, and The Beatles lyric, to make them contrapuntally work together.
There are several surprises and theatrical flourishes throughout the piece, but I feel they are best left as that: surprises to be experienced. It is usually better to show than tell. I will add that this was a very enjoyable piece to compose.
“De l'aube a midi sur le Sous-marin Jaune” was commissioned by Angel Gil-Ordóñez and the Post Classical Ensemble
Joel Phillip Friedman
Washington, D C