For saxophone quartet and wind band.
 
Bart Picqueur wrote Jeu de Cartes for the Berlin based saxophone quartet Claire-Obscur. The piece was written in 2012 and is a MSM bestseller since its premiere with the Bläserphilharmonie Heilbronn. The piece consists of 4 movements of which each one puts another soloist in the picture, although the complete quartet plays in all 4 movements.
 
In the opening part, the baritone saxophone impersonates the queen of hearts, in a majestic introduction and a slow elegant milonga.
Part 2 puts the much rougher caracter of the jack of spades to the fore. The promenent role in this part is played by the tenor saxophone. The musical style is something between Rhythm and Blues and heavy rock.
The alto is the protagonist In the 3rd movement: 10 of diamonds (flemish slang 'koeketine' stands for sexy lady). This waltz in parisian style is obviously very sensual. The piece closes with the soprano's cheerfull 'the joker' imitating all 3 others, as this wildcard can substiture any other in many games.