Review

Franz Lehár
Vilja from “The Merry Widow” :

Arranged by Lisa Albrecht


Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2013
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 4 trombones

The Merry Widow is an operetta composed by Franz Lehár that premiered in 1905 in Vienna, Austria. Vilja is sung by Hanna Glawari, the wealthy widow, to entertain her guests at a dinner party and is heard in the second act of the operetta, one of the most famous songs in the operetta. Lisa Albrecht’s arrangement opens with a short fanfare-like section that quickly moves into the aria sung by Hanna. The melody stays in the Trombone 1 part for the entire arrangement while the rest of the quartet fills in the orchestral accompaniment. While the melody is fairly simple to play, the accompaniment is rather difficult, specifically the Trombone 3 part, and requires strong players all around to achieve the blend required to perform this work. What really makes this piece challenging is the contrast and execution of articulation and dynamics while performing an arrangement of an aria with orchestral accompaniment. Specific articulations are notated that must be performed accurately to ensure that both the melodic line and the harmonic line can be the point of focus when desired. The range of this work is fairly large, but not overly difficult; it ranges from GG in the Bass Trombone part to b1 in Trombone 1. Rhythmically, this work is moderately easy, but still requires good slide technique, as there are a few 16th-note triplets throughout the Trombone 1 part. Overall, this quartet is arranged well and can be effective if performed in a vocal style.

-Matthew Visconti
Boston, MA