I consider "Julia Florida" by Paraguayan guitarist Agustìn Barrios (1885-1944) to be one of the most beautiful pieces ever written for the classical guitar. When presented with an opportunity to arrange any piece I wanted for the wind quintet, I was quick to chose “Julia Florida”.
One of the most beautiful aspects of this piece is the warm contralto melody. While transposing the piece up an octave to utilize more of the range within the wind quintet would have been a slightly easier task, the rich character of this piece would have been lost if I had done so. So instead I have kept this piece in its original octave and given this lovely melody to the clarinet in its chalumeau register. I hope that you will be able to enjoy playing this piece just as much as I have.
Please note, I take no credit for beauty of this piece - that is all Barrios!
