Die schöne Müllerin arranged for mixed choir a cappella

Schubert Die schöne Müllerin arranged for mixed choir a cappella

Carlo Marenco’s arrangement of the twenty songs that make up Die schöne Müllerin is designed to enrich the choral repertoire with one of the towering monuments of Schubert’s art as a lied composer.  The reworking of the original strictly adheres to Schubert’s melodies and harmonies.

The choral versions are largely in four parts with frequent doublings in all parts.  In all the essentials such as the vocal line and the bass they follow the original reading.  However, they arrive at a different interpretation of the words in that the sound material and expressive character have been transferred to a contrapuntal vocal ensemble.  The result is a highly varied texture in which the main melody is either assigned to the soprano or an alternative voice (often the tenor) while the other parts form the accompaniment.

The melodic writing of the accompaniment has either been taken from the original piano part or, where this isn’t possible, freely adapted from it or newly written.

The editor, Carlo Marenco, treats the original with exquisite sensitivity resulting in an evocative choral cycle for any concert programme, whether performed as a whole or in part.