 William Tell: Overture and Arias Rossini flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 2 trumpets and trombone Catalogue Number: HV038 Score and parts: £50.00 Skill level (A-E): D/E William Tell was Rossini's last opera and one of his longest (lasting 4 hours). The libretto was based on the play, Wilhelm Tell, by Friedrich Schiller. Because of the fairly sensitive nature to the ruling caste in Italy (the story portrays rebellion against an existing and occupying authority) the opera was always a problem to the Italian censors of the time. It was first performed in 1829 at the Paris Opéra in 1829, and then in Italy at the Teatro La Fenice in 1833, the latter not giving another performance, no doubt due to the subject matter, for another 50 years. It was a difficult opera to stage with its length (often cut) and demands on the singers (especially the tenor); despite this and the Austrian censors it was performed in Vienna over 400 times during the nineteenth century. This arrangement for wind is taken from a manuscript (A35.22) in the Moravské zemské muzeum in Brno. The arrangement is presented in 2 volumes which the present edition has combined into one. The title page of each volume has the following text— Opera Wilhelm Tell für 11 stimige Harmonie Musik von Rossini Capella Augustinian The overture and movements 2 through 8 are from Volume II, while the remaining movements are from Volume I. It is not clear what is the significance of the volume numbering and why the overture and earlier Scenes are in Volume II. We have chosen to order the movements with the overture and earlier scenes first. It is also unclear who this arrangement was made by—the title page and the parts give no clue. It is clear from the notes at the end of each part that the arrangement was made in 1831, two years after the opera was first performed in August 1829. Each part has a different name associated with it (placed at the end of each volume) which may or may not be a clue to the arranger. Movements
Note that the flute is only scored in the overture. It is possible to buy just the Overture, HV039. Errata A couple of pesky errors in the first print run. Flute, Bar 270 : Overture Last note should be A♯  Horn 1, Bar 2 : 3. Allegro. Recit: "Mais quel bruit?" Whole bar entered wrong  |
