Customer Reviews

Pippin: Complete Vocal Score

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have always loved the music from Pippin. For a long time the full score was not available for purchase, so it is nice to have it in print. My reason for giving 4 stars is that the score is published in manuscript form. In this age of computer generated musical scores that look perfect, we shouldn't have to try and decipher notes due to a handwritten manuscript score.

The "Pippin" Vocal/Conductor score, in manuscript, offers an excellent insight into working music, that is, music prepared for live stage performance. The instrumental portion of the score, condensed into basically a heavily annotated piano score, provides a quick glimpse into the essence of the music without getting bogged down in the details of a specific orchestration. This was especially useful for me because a theatre group with which I am associated wants to do "Pippin" with a more contemporary sound. Having this balance between the big-picture and crucial detail is invaluable for that. However, I don't know that I would actually want to conduct a live performance with this publication only because its reduced size (relative to commercially rented full performance scores) makes some things difficult to see especially with the limited light of the orchestra pit and the solid block back binding makes page navigation a bit more challenging. But this publication is proving to be an extremely helpful tool for building new arrangements while keeping a sense of familiarity. I would that more Broadway musicals were published in this format.