Review

Giacomo Puccini
O mio Babbino Caro from the opera Gianni Schicchi:

Arranged by Matt Lennex


Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2009
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 5 trombones

This short transcription of the famous aria O mio Babbino Caro works well enough for trombone quintet but it does not overexert itself. Upon analysis of this particular arrangement I found that it stays true to Puccini’s intended phrasing of the musical line, but it does not do a particularly good job conveying the languidness of the melody. As such, a trombonist must really know how O mio Babbino Caro has been sung in the past in order to play it properly. What makes this arrangement challenging to play is the range, up to d-flat2 in the first trombone part and down to AA-flat in the bass trombone part. The fifth (bass) trombonist must possess a good low range and the first trombonist must possess a good high range due to the uncomfortable tessitura of the soprano line, some of which is written in tenor clef. The melody is entirely carried in the first trombone part, which makes for an excellent study in legato-playing. This arrangement engages the inner voices of the trombone quintet as well with the rolled chords of the harp in Puccini’s original score, which are notated in the second and third parts. Note that breath marks, not slurs (which are, in my opinion, easier to follow) are used to delineate phrases.  There are also a couple instances of parallel fifths that caught my eyes and ears but fortunately they are overshadowed by the heart wrenching magnificence of Puccini’s melody.   

-Tom Pylinski
Malone University, Canton, OH