Fille du Regiment / Daughter of the Regiment

The full score (Ricordi/Kalmus) is laid out in 19th Century fashion with violins and violas first, followed by flutes, oboes, clarinets, trumpets, then horns (in multiple transpositions), then bassoons, trombones, percussion (timpani always in transposition), then finally voices, chorus, and cello/bass. Instrumentation is only indicated at the start of each scene. Tenor vocal lines are written in tenor clef. The printing is very faded, with the text completely illegible at times. All this makes it a rather difficult score to read. Moreover, the score lacks the recitatives leading into numbers 2 and 4, and includes only singular versions of the act two tenor aria No. 11 and the act two finale. Fortunately the Kalmus parts include the recits, as well as all keys and versions of the act two tenor aria and the act two finale.

There are two versions of the act two tenor aria (No. 11). One is in B-flat major and includes chorus interjections as well as extended material. This version is included in the parts and it's the only version included in the full score. It is not included in the Schirmer vocal score. The other version is shorter with tenor only, no chorus, in A Major. This version is found in the parts as well as the Schirmer vocal score, but it is not included in the full score.

There are two versions of the act two finale. The version which is found in the full score and Schirmer score contains a truncated final chorus of "Salut a la France" in B-flat major. However, the version found on the orchestra parts contains an extended version in A-flat major. The parts also contain the B-flat major version, but here too it is extended.

The Schirmer piano vocal score includes only the solo A Major version of the act two tenor aria, and only the truncated B-flat Major version of the act two finale. In the act one love duet, it lacks the tenor's interjections in Marie's verse, which can be found in the full score, if desired.

There is also some incidental music following the act two entr'acte that is included in the parts, but not in the full score or piano-vocal score.

There are so many text discrepancies between the Schirmer vocal score and the full score, that they are not even worth noting. The text in the full score is sometimes more interesting, but often completely illegible.

Coming soon:

FULL SCORE ERRATA (Kalmus/Ricordi):

ORCHESTRA PART ERRATA (Kalmus):

PIANO-VOCAL SCORE ERRATA (Schirmer):

Tosca - full score / parts discrepancies, including piano-vocal score and McConathy reduction

In General:

There are numerous discrepancies in phrasing in the string parts - especially the violin parts. The bowings in the parts are clear and idiomatic, but at times they veer rather far away from Puccini's intended phrasing.

Act One:

2-3 before rehearsal 16 - all slurs and phrase marks in 1st violin parts are missing

4 before rehearsal 36 - 1st violins have piano in the parts, not forte

Act Three:

3rd bar of rehearsal 7 - there are discrepancies in how the third and fourth beats are notated in the string parts

McConathy Reduction

Act One:

2nd horn has errors at rehearsal 21. Should be covering the written 1st bassoon part

There is a rhythmic discrepancy between the parts and the full score in the 5th bar of rehearsal 5, in the clarinet parts. The parts and the piano-vocal score match. The full score is different.

Act Two:

4th bar of rehearsal 4 has typo on last 16th note - should be E-natural, not F-sharp

10-11 before rehearsal 56, no wind instrument is indicated to sustain the C-natural for two bars, as in the 4th horn part. I had the 2nd violins sustain theirs.

Trombone part has inaccurate rests between rehearsal 61 and 62 (covering 4th horn part)

Act Three:

Rehearsal 9 is missing voices. BCl is covered in Fg, but the horn parts are missing the actual Fg parts.

Piano-Vocal Score

Act One:

The rhythm in the right hand in the bar before rehearsal 72 is incorrect. See full score for correct rhythm.

Act Two:

There should be no high A natural tied into the downbeat of rehearsal 3. The flute begins right on the downbeat.

This list is by no means exhaustive!

Barber of Seville - Kalmus vs. Bärenreiter

A score and set of Kalmus orchestral parts to Rossini's Barber of Seville costs about $1000, whereas the score alone to the Bärenreiter urtext edition costs $1,200, with the parts bringing the total to over $2,000.

The first question a music director needs to ask is whether the extra cost is worth it. Usually I always work from critical or urtext editions whenever possible. However, in the case of Barber, I'm not sure the Bärenreiter edition actually pays off.

Of course it's purely a matter of taste, but in this bel canto opera steeped in tradition, critically pared down parts without the traditions and adaptations for generations of performance practice actually end up sounding quite bland. Very few of the dozens of recordings available actually reflect the critical edition, and the same trend goes with performances.

I've outlined the main differences between both editions below along with my reasons for favoring the Kalmus parts, followed by a few (though minimal) "errata" in the Kalmus edition.

Orchestration

The second oboe, trombone and timpani parts in the Kalmus edition are superfluous. They accurately appear only in the overture, while the added parts parts for the remainder of the opera are awkward and best avoided. These parts exist because the overture was borrowed from another opera. They were added for the remainder of Barber in order to accommodate house orchestras when the extra players were present. The preface to the critical edition full score provides an interesting and detailed history. None of these parts are missed if left out of the overture, and they're certainly not needed for the remainder of the opera.

Percussion
I find the Bärenreiter orchestra parts to be under-orchestrated with percussion, and the Kalmus parts a bit over-orchestrated. Coming up with a percussion part that matches the tone of the production will be the music director's and percussionist's most creative task. Note that tambourine can be substituted for sistrum, and the Kalmus timpani part is best avoided, unless desired in the overture over bass drum and cymbals.

I prefer bass drum with cymbal attachment in the overture, introduction (vivace), Basilio's aria, the storm and the act two finale; triangle in the act one finale; and tambourine with bass drum in the quintet. Again, there's room for lots of variation and creativity in the percussion parts in general. Upon investigating the history of the work, there's little sense in even attempting to replicate Rossini's original intentions, as it was performed so many different ways even within his lifetime.

Dynamics

The dynamics in the Kalmus score and parts are generally more interesting than the dynamics (or lack thereof) in the Barenreiter edition. The Kalmus parts pretty accurately reflect the full score. Moreover, there are dynamics (or missing or editorial dynamics) in the Bärenreiter score that are highly inconsistent.

Articulations

The greatest discrepancies between the Kalmus and Bärenreiter editions are the articulations in winds and strings. The articulations in the Kalmus parts are more economical and conducive to faster tempi. Though the Bärenreiter articulations are more "authentic" and often more interesting, they are also more awkward in terms of bowing and limiting in terms of tempi. The Kalmus articulations are often easier for the string and wind players - probably because they are the result of decades of edits by the players of bygone productions.

Recitative
There are numerous discrepancies of pitches and text between the Kalmus, Ricordi and Bärenreiter scores. The Ricordi piano-vocal score is the most trust-worthy and practical source for recitatives.

Errata
Even though I have an obvious preference for the Kalmus parts for Barber, and even though the parts pretty accurately match the published score, there is a short list of items I could dub "errata," based primarily on score study, my own experience conducting the piece, and a bit of conjecture:

Introduction ("Piano, pianissimo")

The clarinet countermelody in the 2nd and 3rd measure should not exist. Likewise with the 2nd and 3rd measures after rehearsal 20. However, the clarinet line (doubled in violas) after rehearsal 22 is correct, and the later bassoon line doubling the violas is also correct.

No. 2 Cavatina Figaro ("Largo")

My preference is to leave out the trills and the tie to the second half of the measure. It is also cleaner if the first violins slur all of the 4th measure.

No. 4 Cavatina Rosina ("Una voce poco fa")

The articulation at the moderato before rehearsal 49 requires some decision-making. I prefer the slurred eighth-notes and sixteenth-notes in the Kalmus, but they are often separated and played staccato, as indicated in the Barenreiter. Likewise following rehearsal 49.

No. 5 Aria Basilio ("La callunia")

The bass drum and cymbal parts in the percussion parts are missing in the full score.

No. 8 Act One Finale

The horn parts in mm. 6 and 10 are inaccurate. They should parallel the rest of the winds. Likewise wherever this figure occurs.

5 measures before rehearsal 78, I do prefer the strings' sixteenth-notes without slurs, as in the Bärenreiter.

5 measures after rehearsal 84, Bartolo's "Chi è?" should be sung on B-flat and D-natural (the pitches of the chorus basses). The basses don't sing "Chi è?" See the Ricordi piano-vocal score for the correct rendition.

In the 4th measure of the Moderato before rehearsal 86, the strings and bassoons are incorrect. There should be a quarter-rest on beat two, and the half-rest should be a quarter-rest.

In "Fredda ed immobile," there are some orchestral chords in the Kalmus edition that do not exist in the Bärenreiter. I prefer the chords in the Kalmus.

The 19th and 20th measures of the Vivace do not exist in the Ricordi piano-vocal score or the Bärenreiter edition. They should be cut from the Kalmus score and parts.

The measure before the Allegro/Stretta, the violins are missing a re-articulation and trill on the 2nd beat.

At the Allegro, the Bärenreiter has the bassoons doubling the basses, which makes sense. If this is desired, an insert is required in the Kalmus parts.

The 9th measure of 98 , the Barenreiter has the violas doubling the cellos, which makes sense. If this is desired, an insert is requires in the Kalmus parts. Likewise after rehearsal 99.

The Storm

At the keychange to C Major at the end of the storm, the flute should play on the 1st and 3rd beats, not the 2nd and 4th. This is somewhat conjecture.

In sum, my preference is for an imaginative Barber infused with tradition, and the Kalmus edition is built on generations of both. While a critical interpretation of Barber is admirable, it might come at the expense of many of the traditions for which this opera has become so well-known.