ARACHNE won the 1983 Le Havre Wind Composition Contest (France). It was premiered by the Le Havre Municipal Symphonic Band, conducted by Claude Decugis.
ARACHNE is a mythological character, who was an expert in weaving. The nymphs, daughters of Zeus, pay her a visit and Arachne boasts that she could even win from the goddess Athena at a weaving contest. Disguised as an old woman, Athena, also pays a visit to Arachne, who maintains the challenge. After a severe warning, Athene takes off her disguise and accepts the challenge.
They both set to work quite zealously and the resulting tapestries are both of a rare splendour. But in her work Arachne lacked respect for the gods and Athene rages. She condemns Arachne to continue to weave forever as ... a spider.
