THE DOUBLE REED 39

Browsing Among Pasculli

by Sandro Caldini

Florence, Italy

hen I was a student at the Conservatory

of Music in Florence, I remember my

first meeting with a composition of

Antonino Pasculli. It happened about

fourteen years ago in the most important music

bookshop in Florence, Cecherini, when the clerk

asked me: “Hey Sandro, do you know this piece

(showing me the Concerto on La Favorita

themes)?” I declared my ignorance about the

piece and, taking it in my hands, I leafed through

the score of the Musica Rara edition until the last

cadenza of the oboe when I exclaimed: “It seems

like contemporary music to me!”

It was only in 1985 that, pushed by my curiosity

and the “Accord” recording of Omar Zoboli, I bought

the score; from that moment I began learning the

concept of “supervirtuoso” (i.e., “The Paganini of the

oboe”) and struggling hard with its technical

demands. Of course I needed about two months to

get through the Concerto on La Favorita themes and

then I thought I would propose it to my brother and

pianist Fulvio (above all a composer), who gave me

a cool answer: “This is trash music; you must feel ill,

this is musical pornography!” I was very disappoint-

ed with his answer and after putting away the score

in my library I began thinking about which oboe

pieces are really important and why Pasculli’s pieces

aren’t beautiful but funny. Now, after years of con-

certs and a huge quantity of pieces executed with

my brother, I am able to appreciate his criticism

even if I acknowledge the historical worth of the

technical push made by oboe composers such as

Pasculli and Lalliet during the last century.

Nevertheless I am very happy that a lot of Pasculli’s

compositions are newly available (sold out during

the first half of this century) and the credit goes to

the French edition Musica Rara for the publication of

the Fantasias on I Vespri Siciliani and Poliuto and also

the forthcoming Fantasia on Les Huguenots and the

Scherzo Brillante. Credit also goes to the McGinnis

and Marx and Ricordi editions for the publication of

the challenging study Le Api.

Two years ago I had the opportunity to set up a

concert with a harpist; I was really interested to test

this kind of duo, to learn a new repertoire and to

check the difficulties of balance between such differ-

ent instruments. After weeks of research (and much

assistance from Mr. Humbert Lucarelli) I and my

harpist Diana Colosi were able to decide on a con-

cert program with some rarities (such as Donizetti’s

Andante Sostenuto and Andrès’ Algues), some trans-

criptions (such as Lalliet’s Le Cid, Garimond’s Norma

and Rossini’s Tancredi) and a showpiece (Pasculli’s

Omaggio a Belini). Regarding the showpiece we

found the old F. Lucca Edition at the Library of the

Conservatory of Music in Milan (the date signed on

the score was October 1877 and probably repre-

sents the time of acquisition for the library; it’s clear

that Pasculli probably wrote the piece from about

1870 to 1875). I wouldn’t have too much trouble find-

ing other musicians (with the exception of my broth-

er Fulvio!) who’d agree with me that this Omaggio a

Bellini is one of the most beautiful pieces written by

Pasculli and certainly the most important for English

horn and harp. Nevertheless, during 1992 I was able

to locate two new editions of Omaggio a Bellini; first

I bought the Zanibon Edition (now incorporated by

Ricordi Company) n. 6395, edited and fingered by

Alessandro Bonelli, then I found the Karthause

Edition n. 76, edited by Kees Verheijen. The old F.

Lucca Edition has only a few misprints and lends

itself to important problems of interpretation and

execution, especailly in the central Adagio in 12/8. It

was strange to discover that the two new editions

didn’t improve the first edition; in fact, the

Karthause Edition is quite similar to the F. Lucca one.

Furthermore it can be demonstrated that the

Zanibon Edition is full of misprints (!) and it certain-

ly wasn’t edited (!!).

Now we’ll look at all three editions and their

misprints:

F. Lucca Edition

English horn part –Bar n. 5 (Cadenza): in the G major descending

arpeggio is missing thebefore the G; besides the value slur before the 2nd high

“D” is missing.Bar n.25: Before the “B” as

“acciaccatura,” theis missing.

Bar.n.28: The slurs are probably wrong.Bar n.29: The “crescendo” is missing

under the first quarter note.

Bar n.33: The slurs are wrong.Bars nn.83 & 84: idem.Bar n.88: (Cadenza): The final part of the chromatic

scale is either missing the slur or it’s really staccato (?).Bar n.96: in the last six sixteenths the

slur is probably wrong.Bar n.97: In the last “A” the is missing.

W

THE DOUBLE REED40

Bar n.99: “Affret.” Shouldn’t be at the beginning of the bar but at the

end (cfr. score).Bar n.103: In the 3rd group fo 4

sixteenths the “A” is . This is the most significant mistake in the English horn part of thisedition.

Bar n.106: In the last 8 sixteenths the sluris probably wrong.

Bar n.107: In the 2nd “A” the is missing.Bar n.115: In the last “A” the is missing.

Harp. Part –Bar n.3: In the last chord the before

the “As”are missing.Bar n.18: In the 3rd group of eighths

(right hand), the before the “D” is missing.Bar n.71: The time change signature is

missing.Bars nn.76 & 77: In the bass (left hand), the #

before the “G” is missing.Bars nn.91 & 95: In the bass (left hand), the

before the “As” (in the 3rd chord) are missing.

Bar n. 100: The last descending arpeggio (right hand) is wrong: there is an “A” instead of a “G.”

Bar n.103: In the bass (left hand), the 1st “E” is #, the 2nd is .

Bar n. 106; In the bass (left hand), the # before the “C” is missing.

Bar n. 107: In the bass (left hand), the 1st “E” is #, the others are .

Bar n. 108; In the right hand, the # is misplaced: it should be before the “C” instead of the “E.”

Karthause Edition

The Karthause Edition presents a strange prob-

lem in bar-numbering; in fact the piece results in

122 bars instead of 121. Furthermore the music is

really revised and some differences aren’t proper

mistakes (cfr. the central Adagio in 12/8). I contin-

ue my analysis following the F. Lucca Edition bar-

numbering.

English horn part –At the beginning, there are 4 “tacet” bars instead of 5.Bar n.5 (Cadenza): In the descending G major

arpeggio the before the “G” and the value slur above the high “D” are missing. In the ascending chromatic scale the before the “F” is missing.

Bar n.8: The grace note is an “acciaccatura” instead of an “appoggiatura.”

Bar n.12: idem.

Bar n.24: The # under the “gruppetto” ismissing (i.e., “C#” in the gruppetto” and the last “C” is .

Bar n.25; The slurs are probably wrong; the grace note is an “acciaccatura” instead of an “appoggiatura” and the is missing.

Bar n.38: see bar n.8; moreover the value slur in the 2nd high “A” is missing.

Bars nn.74 & 77: see bar n.8.Bar n.84: The phrase slur in the 1st half

of this bar is missing.

Harp Part –Bar n.3: In the bass (left hand) the 1st

chord is wrong: there is an “F”instead of an “E” (i.e., it’s an “F” major chord).

Bar n.6: In the 1st chord of the bass (left hand) the “A” is missing.

Bar n.7: In the 1st sixteenth of thebass (left hand) there is a

D” instead of an “E.”Bar n.12: In the 1st chord the “E” is .Bar n.13: In the 3rd chord there is a “D”

instead of an “E.”Bar n.14: In the 3rd chord (with the

“fermata”), a “C” is missing in the right hand. There is also a“fermata” in the last rest of the left hand.

Bar n.18: In the 3rd triplet (right hand), a before the “D” is missing.

Bars nn.276, 29 & 30: At the end of the bar the “fermatas” are missing.

Bar n.34: In the left hand the 2nd group of sixteenths is wrong except for the 1st “Db.” It should be: Db, G, Eb, Bb and G.

Bar n.36: In the left hand the chords of the 3 groups of triplets were probably corrected by the editor; in the F. Lucca Edition there is an “Eb” instead of an “F.”

Bar n.70: In the left hand the 2nd and the 3rd chords are wrong: they should be like the 1st one.

Bars nn75 & 76: In the bass (left hand) the # before the “Gs” are missing.

Bar n.88: Before the last chord an eighth rest is missing.

Bar n.97: In the right hand, the 4th sixteenth is an “E” instead of a“C.”

Zanibon Edition

As I said above this edition doesn’t improve F.

Lucca’s one; in fact, the revision of the editor is really

full of gaps. The placement of character and dynamic

indications are quite similar to the F. Lucca Edition

even though the score makes note of the “revision”

and the “fingering” by Alesandro Bonelli. There is no

BROWSING AMONG PASCULLI 41

fingering in either the English horn part or the harp

part.

English horn part –Bar n.5 (Cadenza): In the G major descendingarpeggio the before the “G” and the value slur of the2nd high “D” are missing.Bar n.10: The value slur is missing

between the “Gs.”Bar n.22: The “pp” is missing.Bar n.25: Before the “B” as

“acciaccatura” the is missing.

Bar n.32: see bar n.10.Bar n.33: The phrase slurs are wrong.Bars nn.35, 38 & 43: The “ppp” is missing.Bars nn.72 & 73: See below in the harp part.Bar n.84: The “ff” and the “pp” are

missing.Bar n.86: the “ff” is missing.Bar n.91: The 3rd “E” is and the 5th

is (i.e., the is misplaced because it should be before the “E” of the last group of sixteenths. Bar n.95 is done correctly!).

Bar n.97: In the last “A” the is missing.

Bar n.100: The “crescendo” is missing.Bar n.103: The high “A” is instead of #.Bar n.115: In the last group of sixteenths

the high “A” is .

Harp part –From bar n.4 till n.44 the key signature is wrong: infact the “Db”is missing. It’s obvious that in this sec-tion the majority of “Ds” are .Bar n.3: In the last chord the before

the “As” are missing.Bar n.16: In the left hand the 2nd chord

is wrong: it should be an “F” instead of a “G.”

Bar n.18: In the 3rd group of eighths (right hand), the before the “D” is missing.

Bar n.22: The “pp” is missing.Bar n.29: The last chord before the

“fermata” presents a strange problem: in the right hand the“D” is and in the left hand the “D” is . Probably it was copied from the first edition although this edition was written in the key of A .

Bar n.31: In the ascending arpeggio the 6th sixteenth should be a “C” instead of a “D.”

Bars nn.42 & 43: The “pppp” is missing.Bar n.44: The key-change is missing.Bar n.65: The last sixteenth is wrong: it

should be an “E” instead of an“F.”

Bar n.66: At the left hand the chord is missing: it should be there an “E” instead of a “C.”

From bar n.69 till the end, the tonality indication iswrong. It’s obvious that in this section the majority of“Fs” are .Bar n.71: The position of the chord,

compared to the F. Lucca Edition, is wrong; besides the time-change sign is missing.

Afterwards, the “Adagio” in 12/8 begins. This is themost controversial part of the piece and the editor re-proposes the same writing of the 1st edition, that is tosay the double melodic line for the English horn. Ithink that it’s pointless to resolve bar n.72 and n.73:it’s better to split up the two melodic lines betweenthe English horn and the harp.Bar n.73: In the left hand (in the last

eighth) there should be a rest instead of a “D.”

Bars nn.76 & 77: In the left hand the “G” is #.Bar n.84: The “ff” in the beginning of the

bar and the “pp” at the end are missing.

Bar n.88: In the bass (left hand), two rests and the “fermata” are missing.

Bars nn.91 & 95: In the bass, the 34rd eighth is an “A .”

Bar n.92: The “F” is misplaced: it shouldbe at the beginning of bar n.93or on the 2nd chord of bar n.92 (like in the F. Lucca Edition).

Bar n.100: The same mistake of the 1st edition: in the last descending

arpeggio (right hand)there is an “A” instead of a “G.”Bars nn.101 & 102: The dynamic markings are of

the editor.Bar n.103: In the bass (left hand) the 1st

“E” is #, the 2nd is (as in thefirst edition).

Bar n.106: In the bass (left hand) the # before the “C” is missing (as inthe first edition).

Bar n.107: In the bass (left hand), the first “E” is #, the others are .Besides the dynamic markingsare of the editor.

Bar n.108: In the right hand, the # is misplaced: it’s before the “C” instead of the “E.” Besides thedynamic markings are of the editor.

Bar n.119: In the right hand the 1st C major chord is missing (it’s the same chord as on the 3rd beat).

Conclusion

In my research I’ve deliberately ignored the

misprints for the English horn in the score

because the English horn player normally plays

from his part. It’s common knowledge that the

Zanibon Edition is full of misprints; the repeti-

tions of gross mistakes from the first edition

have driven me to define it “unedited and

unchecked.” Moreover I think that the

Karthause Edition is quite good but it can be

improved. In this composition, as in the great

part of Pasculli’s works, the wind player will find

it useful to employ circular breathing (but

THE DOUBLE REED42

he’s/she’s not obliged!) especially in the 1st

cadenza and in the final “mosso.”

All of us know that Pasculli wrote at least 9

“Fantasias” or “Grandi Concerti” on the best

known operas of the 19th Century and most of

them were reprinted by Musica Rara. In the near

future this company will print two old outprints

of Pasculli (as mentioned at the beginning of this

article). Only four fantasias are left unpublished:

the Fantasy for oboe and piano on themes of

Donizetti’s L Elisir d’Amore, the Fantasy for oboe

and piano on themes of Verdi’s Rigoletto, the

Fantasy for oboe and piano on themes of Verdi’s

Un Ballo in Maschera and the Trio for violin, oboe

and piano on themes of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell.

Writing fantasias was really common during

the last century and I think that Pasculli’s works

represent only the tip of the iceberg. In fact there

are a great number of operatic-pieces for

oboe/English horn and piano which have been

forgotten and scattered in the libraries in half of

Europe. Probably Theodore Lalliet’s works are

the only known and reprinted ones; the publica-

tions of Daelli and Fargues are, I think, sporadic

cases for the Universal Edition. Unfortunately

the others (Dacci, De Stefani, Garimond,

Fahrbach, Verroust, Parma, Lovreglio, etc., …)

are still waiting for an editor and publisher. ❖

P.S. A special thanks to my close friend Diana

Colosi, who checked the harp parts.

About the writer:

Sandro Caldini graduated from the

Conservatory of Music “L.Cherubini” in

Florence and specialized in chamber music at

King Alfred’s College in Winchester. In 1985 he

won, together with his brother Fulvio, the 1st

price at the International Competition of Stresa

for chamber music. In 1989 he taught oboe and

English horn at the Federal University of Rio de

Janeiro. In the same year and in 1991, he

received, as a teacher, the “Honoris Causa”

diploma at the National Competition in Genoa.

He has collaborated with the weekly “Toscana

Oggi,” Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’s Orchestra,

Pro musica studium orchestra of Rome, Corale

Coradini of Arezzo and, from 1982 to 1984, he

was solo oboe in the Chamber Orchestra of

Florence. During the last decade he has given,

with his brother Fulvio, about two hundred con-

certs in Italy, Germany, England, Brazil and

U.S.A. (at the 22nd Annual Conference in

Minneapolis); he has been teaching oboe since

1984 at the High School of Music in Arezzo. In

1992 he qualified as oboe teacher in the

Conservatory of Music.