Review (PDF) Werther: Vocal Score (French, English Language Edition), Vocal Score (Kalmus Edition) (French Edition)
Expertly arranged Vocal Score by Jules Massenet from the Kalmus Edition series. This is from the Romantic era.
Series: Kalmus Edition
Paperback: 236 pages
Publisher: Alfred Music; Bilingual edition (March 1, 1985)
Language: French
ISBN-10: 0769246346
ISBN-13: 978-0769246345
Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,697,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #6 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Massenet #403 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Songbooks > Choral #591 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Historical Period > Late Romantic
The Kalmus scores (as I later learned from my musically well versed mother-in-law) tend to be notoriously difficult to read. The plates used for printing are old and poorly made and yet the company continues to print from them. Literally, the words were mostly illegible (making the reading and learning of a French opera with plenty of recit-like sections very nearly impossible) and the notes as well as the staves were often only partially printed as if they were running out of ink. Sometimes, when all the notes and words WERE there, the print was so blurry that it was still essentially unusable. I bought this as a birthday gift for my dramatic tenor husband and had to send it back before even giving it to him (making it's replacement - the very good quality International Printing Company edition [with the orange cover] arrive well after the big day.) I will never buy a Kalmus score again.
I want to be clear that this opera is GORGEOUS. The slightly negative review is not for the opera itself, but for the quality of the score. I have noticed a few flaws that are forgivable...the occasional spelling error or lack of clarity for some words. I figure that those are easy enough to look up on the internet and then correct in your own score. I also prefer not to have the English translation underneath the original French. I understand that this is subjective, but I personally don't like it because it makes it more confusing to learn the note values for those of us who are studying the opera in the original language. However, this is totally forgivable, since some people need/prefer the English translation underneath. However, the things that I find unforgivable are: some mistakes in note values (in order to double check these, I would need to purchase a different score, which kind of defeats the purpose) and the HORRIBLE binding. If you order this score, you will need to have it spiral bound somewhere else...no doubt about it. I have only been seriously studying the score for about 2 months, and I've already lost multiple pages. No excuse for that! I am extremely jealous of my cast-mates who purchased their score through Classical Vocal Reprints. Theirs came without the English translation, and was already spiral bound; a much better choice!
This paperback score is lightweight and compact, making it very easy to use. The print is small, and I've seen some people complain that it is difficult to tell which syllables go with which notes, but I have not had this issue.
Werther: Vocal Score (French, English Language Edition), Vocal Score (Kalmus Edition) (French Edition) Faust: Vocal Score (French, English Language Edition), Vocal Score (Kalmus Edition) (French Edition) Manon: Vocal Score (French, English Language Edition) (Vocal Score) (Kalmus Edition) (French Edition) Les Troyens a Carthage: Vocal Score (French Language Edition) (Vocal Score) (Kalmus Edition) (French Edition) Iphigenie en Tauride: Vocal Score (French Language Edition) (Vocal Score) (Kalmus Edition) (French Edition) Esclarmonde: Vocal Score (French Language Edition), Vocal Score (Kalmus Edition) (French Edition) Norma: Vocal Score (Italian, English Language Edition) (Vocal Score) (Kalmus Edition) (Italian Edition) Cavalleria Rusticana: Vocal Score (Italian, English Language Edition), Comb Bound Vocal Score (Kalmus Edition) (Italian Edition) Die Fledermaus (The Bat): Vocal Score (German, English Language Edition), Vocal Score (Kalmus Edition) (German Edition) Salome: Vocal Score (German, English Language Edition), Comb Bound Vocal Score (Kalmus Edition) (German Edition) Body Language: Body Language Training - Attract Women & Command Respect, by Mastering Your High Status Body Language (Body Language Attraction, Body Language ... Language Secrets, Nonverbal Communication) Werther: Vocal Score Larousse Pocket French-English/English-French Dictionary (English and French Edition) Larousse Pocket Student Dictionary French-English/English-French (French and English Edition) Talk English: The Secret To Speak English Like A Native In 6 Months For Busy People (Including 1 Lesson With Free Audio & Video) (Spoken English, listen English, Speak English, English Pronunciation) H.M.S. Pinafore: Vocal Score (English Language Edition), Score (Kalmus Edition) Sorcerer: Vocal Score (English Language Edition), Score (Kalmus Edition) The Yeoman of the Guard: Vocal Score (English Language Edition), Score (Kalmus Edition) Bianca e Fernando: Vocal Score (Italian Language Edition) (Vocal Score) (Kalmus Edition) (Italian Edition) Adelson e Salvini: Vocal Score (Italian Language Edition) (Vocal Score) (Kalmus Edition) (Italian Edition)
