Pillevestre's "Premier Offertoire," the first work published for bass clarinet in France, is an andante in C major, seventy-nine measures in length. The range of two octaves and a minor third extends from E to g'. The largest portion of the work falls within a more narrow gamut from c to e'. The portions of use of the tessitura are as follows:

The mood is solemn and stately. As the title and suggested use of the organ accompaniment would imply, the pieces was intended to be used in a devotional context. A recitative introduction is followed by a lyric air marked bien chanté. A slightly more animated tempo is indicated in two sections. Few technical demands are made by the flowing hymnlike melody, which moves primarily in quarters and halves, without elaboration. When the melody becomes more agitated, moving in eights during an un peu animé section, it is given to the keyboard. The bass clarinet stays close to the roots of the harmonies, strongly emphasizing the tonic and dominant tones. There are few accidentals or implied shifts in the harmony.

Biographical material about the composer is lacking, though Pazdírek's Universal-Handbuch der Musikliteratur... credits him with 105 published works.¹ These include work for one or two solo instruments with piano or string quartet accompaniment, for band, and for orchestra. Many of this pieces were published in versions for severals different solo instruments. In addition to the "Premier Offertoire," four of the "Fueilles d'Album - Morceaux faciles et concertants," intended primarily for saxophones, although published in versions for other wind and stringed instruments, were designated as being appropriated for the bass clarinet. They are: "Contemplation," "Lacrimosa," "Luther," and "Trappiste." All of them are the slow cantabile melodies which their devotional titles would suggest. The four works are listed by the Bibliographie Musicale Française as having been published for the orchestra in 1887.² This listing, compiled quarterly by an association of French music publishers, makes, however, no mention of the original piano accompanied versions of these works. "Premier Offertoire" bears the dedication "à mon ami Sallingue de l'Opera" and was probably first performed by him.

¹ Pazdírek, U-HM 9: 364-366.

² Chambre des Éditeurs de Musique, Bibliographie Musicale Française 107 (Paris: June-September 1897 reprint; Scarsdale, New York: Annemarie Schnase, 1968), 11