“Presented to the glorious carnival rancho of the same name”, Ameno Resedá, is a 1913 polka commissioned by a carnival society made up of a group of Rio de Janeiro civil servants.
One of them, Napoleão de Oliveira, recounts:

“I was a letter carrier on Rua do Ouvidor and Nazareth was playing in front of the Odeon. I'd leave my work and just stand there listening. I loved those pieces. He played the piano very well. He was deaf. I approached him and said:
- “Maestro, I belong to a guild, a poor working class, colored people.”
And I wanted the maestro to do a little song dedicated to my club, a souvenir. I humbly suggested it. He asked me:
- “What's the name of the club?”
He took out a piece of paper and wrote it down, without saying anything else. So I said thank you very much and he went on playing.
Every day, in the afternoon, I'd go and have a look. I stayed with him. He'd watch me from afar and keep on playing. One day, I arrived and he called out to me:
- Come here!
He handed me a sheet of music:
- Here's the music for your club, you can have it!
And that's how the piece was composed. »

Published the same year by Casa Arthur Napoleão (Sampaio, Araújo & Cia.) and recorded the following year by the Grupo do Louro, whose leader and soloist was clarinetist Lourival de Carvalho (1892-1956), it is one of Nazareth's most popular pieces.
In addition to the melody of its three themes, its accompaniment “must imitate the cavaquinho”, as Nazareth expressly states, the small, metallic-sounding, four-string plucked guitar typical of choro orchestras.
The writing of this very simple, light accompaniment, in repeated chords, plays a large part in the success of this charming Brazilian polka.

Frédéric Cellier

Along his university studies (DEA in musicology, University of Paris IV-Sorbonne), Frédéric Cellier was awarded three first prizes and a development prize at the CNR of Nice and won first prize at the International Competition of Musical Execution - soloist category – of Stresa (Italy).
He is the laureate of the Fondation de France and the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and accredited teacher at the CNR of Nice, the CNR of Marseille, and at the CRR Olivier Messiaen of Avignon (France).
Frédéric Cellier is the interpreter of Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for clarinet Bb and piano with Jean-Michel Damase, Jean Françaix or Gabriel Tacchino, but also performs his own version for clarinet, piano and string orchestra of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in blue for Wynton Marsalis or under the baton of Adrian Gershwin, grandson of the composer.
Founder and artistic director of STRADIVARIUS Editions, he is the author of pieces of light music and a considerable number of arrangements in all styles and for all instruments acclaimed by numerous personalities in the music world:

"Frédéric Cellier has produced a number of adaptations of Georges Auric's works with such talent and precision that I consider them a natural addition to his chamber music catalogue."
Michèle AURIC - Georges Auric's widow

"To Frédéric Cellier, excellent musician and tireless arranger."
Jean FRANÇAIX - Composer and pianist

"Arranging a musical work is always a delicate and risky exercise, because it requires both modifying it so that it can be played by the desired instruments and preserving its very essence. But that is exactly what Frédéric Cellier has done, preserving the nuances, subtleties and soul of the original works while breathing new life into them.
His arrangements give all the musicians the chance to perform these compositions specially revisited for their instrument, and make music lovers rediscover them in a new light."
Adrian GERSHWIN - George Gershwin’s grandson

"Congratulations for your beautiful new orchestration and rendition of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in blue."
Wynton MARSALIS - Trumpet player, composer, bandleader, general and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York

"It is outstanding that Frédéric Cellier has managed to transpose Saxophone Marmalade from the saxophone to the clarinet. I thank him for it and wish its great and deserved success. "
Manuel ROSENTHAL - Conductor, composer and Maurice Ravel’s pupil

"I am very happy to tell you how much I appreciated your transcription of the Capriccio, based on Francis Poulenc's Le Bal Masqué. It perfectly reflects the spirit and verve of the score for two pianos that I had the opportunity to play and record with Jacques Février, and it was a great pleasure for me to premiere it in Montpellier."
Gabriel TACCHINO - Pianist, Francis Poulenc’s specialist

"I must tell you that I really like your transcriptions and that I think the tone of the instruments you have chosen suits perfectly our beloved composer."
Ornella VOLTA - Musicologist, president of the Erik Satie’s Foundation