Review

Giacomo Puccini
“Nessun Dorma” from Turandot: for three trombones and tuba

Arranged by Andrew Heading


Louisville, KY, United States
Publisher: Potenza Music Publishing
Date of Publication: 2012
URL: http://www.potenzamusic.com

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 4 brass
Secondary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 4 trombones

While it is great to have another arrangement of this iconic aria, the difficulty of voicing and arranging this aria presents major problems. Heading maintains the original key, which means often this setting is quite low. The tuba spends most of the piece at GG or below at soft dynamics, which is difficult enough, and the first stanza of the aria in trombone 3 is an octave lower than the original, down to D in the opening phrase, creating unusual colors and voicing. The tenor melody remains in trombone 3 throughout, while trombone 1 and 2 play the accompaniment and the off stage chorus responses. This demands the trombone 1 part cover a wide range: E-flat to d2. The arranger has tried to make the ranges reasonable and to keep the transparency of the original, but one wonders if some transposition would have produced better results. In addition, though this is a well-known aria, it would have been helpful to include more of the expressive rubato indications traditionally associated with this aria in the parts and score. Performance of this arrangement will require sensitive ensemble and confident technique.

-Timothy Howe
University of Missouri