This exemplary new edition of the vocal score of an enchanting operetta — which has delighted audiences for over a century with its catchy melodies, its witty lyrics, and its madcap tale of tender-hearted pirates, timid policemen, and the demands of duty — was prepared by musicologists Carl Simpson and Ephraim Hammett Jones, who returned to original manuscripts and early sources to produce handsome, newly engraved plates closest to Gilbert and Sullivan's original intentions. All of the voice parts appear here, in addition to a piano reduction of the full score and the complete libretto. Introduction by the editors. Contents. Instrumentation.
Jacques Offenbach (1819–80) ranks among the greatest composers of lighthearted operettas, and his famous songs continue to charm millions who know neither their names nor their composer. This volume features the sheet music for 38 popular songs from 14 operettas. All are reproduced from the original sheet music — a few from the original piano-vocal scores, and some with lively pictorial covers. Contents include four songs from Orpheé aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld), five songs from La belle Hélène, four songs from La vie parisienne, six songs from La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein, seven songs from La Périchole, three songs from La fille du tambour-major, and more. The complete French texts appear on the music pages, and a separate section offers English translations. All songs were chosen by Antonio de Almeida, a renowned conductor and authority on Offenbach, who also provides an informative Introduction.
One of the last works of German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), the oratorio Elijah was first performed at England's Birmingham Festival in August 1846. Elated by the audience's response, Mendelssohn wrote jubilantly to his brother: «Not less than four choruses and four airs were encored.» Audiences still respond enthusiastically to this splendid oratorio. A century and a half later, Elijah is one of the most frequently performed of all choral works, a favorite of audiences everywhere.In the Old Testament, the story is told of how the Prophet Elijah vindicates the religion of the Israelites against the nature-worship of Baal. Mendelssohn imagined Elijah as «strong, zealous and, yes, even bad-tempered, angry and brooding…yet borne aloft as if on angels' wings.» His conception of Elijah comes immediately and vividly to life in an inspired series of solo and choral passages filled with compelling drama and rich musical symbolism. Elijah is reprinted here from the definitive German edition, with the text in both German and English.
Romance, murder, and revenge — Don Giovanni offers an ingenious blend of comic and tragic elements in recounting the adventures of a dashing libertine whose trail of seductions and abandonments leads (literally!) to hell. Mozart's masterpiece, a product of his inspired collaboration with poet Lorenzo da Ponte, premiered to public and critical acclaim in 1787. Since then, every great opera singer has assayed one or another of its leading roles, and audiences around the world have delighted in its charms.This addition to Dover's series of vocal scores for the world's most popular operas contains the complete music for voice with a piano reduction of the orchestral part. Handsome and inexpensive, it features large pages and clear type for easy reading. Reproduced from an authoritative edition, and including an English-language version of the libretto, this edition of Don Giovanni will prove an indispensable, practical aid for soloists, chorus members, and rehearsal pianists.