Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868)
Opera Melodies

arranged for 2 flageolets (recorders in c)
by C. Eugène Roy (approx. 1790–1827)
Edited by Franz Müller-Busch

Girolamo G 12.041, playing score, € 18,00
ISMN 979-0-50084-069-5

sample page

G 12.040 G 12.042

 

 

Preface

France around 1820: The French Revolution (1789–1794) and the ensuing Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815) had ended not so very long before, and an attempt had been made at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) to stabilize political equilibrium and re-define the political landscape in Europe. The wars had resulted in considerable destruction throughout Europe; the aristocracy had been significantly weakened or, in the case of France, almost completely eradicated. This brought about the rise of the middle classes, and hence an increasing number of music lovers and musical amateurs.

To meet the needs of an increasingly well educated, middle-class audience, extracts and highlights from a number of operas were edited to suit a variety of instrumentations and musicians.1 This enabled the well-known music from the opera houses to be enjoyed in middle-class homes, thus making the tunes available to a wider public unable to attend opera performances, either for financial reasons, or because they lived too far out in the provinces.

Between 1810 (La cambiale di matrimonio) and 1829 (Guillaume Tell) Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) composed no less than 39 operas, many of them opere buffe, comic operas, two of which, i.e. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) and La Cenerentola (Cinderella) can still be found regularly in the repertoire of many of today's opera houses. Rossini's operas were immensely successful all over the world – long after the premiere of his last opera – making him for a long time the uncrowned King of Italian Opera.

C. Eugène Roy (approx. 1790–1827) was a French musician who had acquired some standing as a flageolet virtuoso and in other areas.2 In accordance with the increasing demand and prevailing taste of the time, he arranged and published a number of works of various composers for the French flageolet3, including this publication, which appeared in Paris around 1819 under the title

RECUEIL / des plus beaux Airs / de Rossini /
arrangés pour deux Flageolets / par C. ROY. / …

The addition of "1 Suite." suggests that one or even several further volumes may have been planned or possibly even published.

The two part-books owned by the editor are essentially free from errors, but contain the usual inaccuracies regarding the placement of slurs and ties, which I corrected on the basis of parallel passages and, in very few cases, by consulting the full scores available in the IMSLP4. In the same way, I was able to correct some passages with problematic harmonies and resolve some unclear points. I left the original musical text largely unaltered, although the idea of making the rather plain second part more interesting by introducing a slightly more virtuoso character held some appeal.

Translation: Christa Lange-Rudd

Celle, July 2015, Franz Müller-Busch

 

1) Cf. Becker, Klaus: Vermarktete Oper; in: TIBIA 4/87, pp. 553–557
2) Cf. Thieme, Ulrich: Preface to the publication 24 Kleine Duos / 24 Little Duets by C. Eugène Roy, Girolamo G 12.036, Celle 2013; http://www.girolamo.de/single/g12036E.html
3) op. cit.
4) http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Rossini,_Gioacchino

 

The different pieces originate from the following works:

No. 1 – La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie), 1817
Introduction to the 1st Act (orchestra) with subsequent chorus
Oh che giorno fortunato and Pippo's entrance

No. 2 – Otello (Othello), 1816
1st Act, duet Desdemona – Emilia Vorrei che il tuo pensiero

No. 3 – Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), 1816
1st Act, Count Almaviva's cavatina Ecco ridente in cielo

No. 4 – La gazza ladra
1st Act, Ninetta's aria Di piacer mi balza il cor

No. 5 – Marche Triomphale d'Otello (Triumphal March from Othello)
Instrumental piece from the end of the introduction to the 1st Act

No. 6 – L'italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers), 1813
1st Act, duet Lindoro – Mustafà Se inclinassi a prender moglie

No. 7 – Tancredi, 1813
Finale to the 2nd Act, tutti Fra quei soavi palpiti

No. 8 – Il barbiere di Siviglia
1st Act, Rosina's aria Io sono docile

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