Review

Wolfgang Mozart and Gioacchino Rossini
Der Hölle Rache; Papageno-Papagena; Tanti affetti:

Arranged by Peter Knudsvig


Bulle, , Switzerland
Publisher: Editions Bim
Date of Publication: 1988
URL: http://www.editions-bim.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 5 brass

The titles above represent three, separate arrangements, each based on a famous aria from Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) or Donna del Lago (Lady of the Lake). Peter Knudsvig, trumpeter in the Rekkenze Ensemble, a well-known brass quintet from Hof, Germany, arranged these clever settings. Knudsvig specializes in the adaptation of famous operatic excerpts and brass players will be pleased with the clarity and idiomatic writing in his transcriptions. It appears each of these arrangements is conceived for bass trombone instead of tuba; however the part works well on CC or F tuba. Note: Papageno-Papagena actually includes C trumpet parts even though the parts indicate B-flat trumpet. Der Hölle Rache (Queen of the Night) is written for B-flat piccolo trumpet to provide the proper octave separation without taxing the player’s endurance. 

As one would expect with the music of Mozart and Rossini, all of these arrangements are deceptively difficult. The trumpet writing in Tanti affetti (Many Affections) requires fluid slurs and dexterous fingers.  In fact for trumpet players, the arrangement of Tanti affetti is the most rhythmically intricate of the three settings presented here. Performers will be tempted, and rightly so, to place the settings from Die Zauberflöte in the “gig book,” but the setting of Tanti affetti, from Rossini’s heroic opera seria Donna del Lago, will work best in a concert situation. If you aspire to energetic works with clarity, balance, and refinement, Knudsvig’s arrangements of these operatic jewels are certainly worth your time.   

-Mark Britt
Furman University