Puccini “a la Sammut” makes for a delightful dish! In this beautiful arrangement, Sammut uses the singing characteristics of the marimba to bring out the simple, lyrical elements of Puccini’s famous opera. It’s hard to believe Sammut is able to communicate both the orchestral parts and the aria in this arrangement, but it works! Requires a 4.6 octave marimba
“This marimba work is an adaptation of ‘Quando me n’vo’ (‘Musetta’s Waltz’) from Puccini’s opera ‘La Boheme.’ Eric Sammut has arranged this popular aria to fit on a 4.6-octave (low E) marimba. Instead of providing a literal transcription of the aria in its original ABA form, Sammut has rearranged the form to give the piece an intro. Permutated variations and arpeggio passages are improvised on the original chord progression, which have been used to portray both the original solo singing melodic lines and the instrumental accompaniments. The piece requires the marimbist to have a well-trained four-mallet technique and the ability to play expressively. Sammut has created a quality arrangement for the advanced college marimbist’s repertoire.”
— I-Jen Fang, Percussive Notes, March 2010
