Guillaume Balay (1871-1943) served in the French military as a prolific Cornet player, having won first place in the 1894 Cornet Award competition at the National Academy of Music in Paris. His compositions were popular in the Cornet and brass repertoire at the time, including his Andante and Allegro, adaptable to Cornet, Saxhorn or Trumpet with Piano accompaniment.

This Balay work remains within the brass repertoire to this day and is suitable for intermediate level players. The Andante is in 12/8 meter and exploits the full range of the instruments. There is also much use of performance directions and articulation. The Allegro is a much brisker tempo than the first movement and is in 2/4 time. The texture is predominantly melody-dominated homophony with the occassional use of call-and-response between the melody instrument and Piano accompaniment. This quirky, two movement piece by Balay provides the intermediate Cornet, Saxhorn or Trumpet player with a fun, alternative performance piece.