# Orchestral/Choral Puccini: His non-operatic and orchestral work



## HumphreyAppleby (Apr 11, 2013)

I already posted a Puccini thread over on the Opera forum, which got a little testy. That thread was supposed to be a look at whether this composer should get a little reevaluation in critical circles. I thought it would be interesting to see what the people on the straight classical music boards have to say. So I've put together a list of some non operatic or non-vocal pieces by Puccini. A lot of these are pretty rare. I won't pretend that all of htem the greatest music ever written, although I think some are quite great.... Most of them are quite lovely and interesting, especially the later pieces where he experiments with modern harmony.

An early string piece called _Crisantemi_. It was written by Puccini in one night upon the death of the Duke of Savoy. Originally a string quartet. 1890.





A feisty piece. I can't find a date, although it sounds like an early piece.





A requiem for the anniversary of the death of Giuseppe Verdi, commissioned by Ricordi. Rare. 1905.


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## HumphreyAppleby (Apr 11, 2013)

A piano tango written between 1907 and 1910. Supposedly influenced by his trip to America in 1907. Very dissonant harmonies.





Prelude to _La fanciulla del west_. Obviously a video by a fan of Puccini, but it's the best recording of the piece on YouTube. Description of the towering pine forests in the California mountains, and the plains below them in which the opera takes place. Evening. 1910.





An interesting little video with an introduction to and then a rendition of a piano lullaby by Puccini. Dissonant harmonies, especially for a lullaby, but you can't hardly tell. It would have put me to sleep as a child. 1912.


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## HumphreyAppleby (Apr 11, 2013)

A very sad piece written for a catalog to raise money for the families of the victims of World War I. My favorite of the pieces here. 1916.





Flowing piece describing the Seine River in Paris, and the meloncholy of the lives in his opera _Il tabarro_. Quite obviously influenced by Debussy, but still very much a Puccinian style. 1918.





Symphonic intermezzo from _Suor Angelica_. Beautiful melody, and very lovely textures in the orchestra. Not particularly dissonant or modern in the sense of harmony, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.





I suppose my intent here is to see how the wider classical music community sees Puccini, and to see what people's reactions to the pieces above are. While I obviously don't 'expect;' people to listen to all of them, a good number most people have probably never heard before, and might show a different side of the composer.


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