Classic String Quartet Collection

This courtroom satire is brimming with good tunes many of which are skilfully adapted by Carlo Martelli in this delightful medley from a favourite operetta.

This medley, arranged for string quartet by Carlo Martelli, is basically the overture of Yeoman of the Guard, with a greatly extended arrangement of one of the most loved numbers in the operetta I Have a Song to Sing Oh incorporated.

Sullivan's operettas are so full of well beloved tunes that the main task for the arranger, of medleys derived from any particular one, is to choose which numbers to omit and which to include. The present arranger Carlo Martelli apologizes in advance to any customer whose favourite tune has been left out!

Arguable one of the half dozen or so most popular light operas in the world, The Mikado contains so many gems that Carlo Martelli, the arranger of this potpourri, has had to omit several of them, even though this selection has a duration of about 15 minutes.

Possibly together with Mikado, The Gondoliers, the last composed of the Savoy operas to remain in the repertoire, and here arranged into a medley by Carlo Martelli, represents the high watermark of Gilbert and Sullivan's achievement.

Although the least often performed of the Savoy operas that are still in the repertoire 'Ruddigore' contains much charming and indeed sometimes stirring music, some of which can be heard in this skilful medley arranged by Carlo Martelli.

Although Princess Ida is one of the lesser known in the Gilbert and Sullivan canon it contains a host of delightful numbers, many of which are called into play in this lovely and exciting medley arranged by Carlo Martelli.

The music that Sullivan wrote for Gilbert's satire on Oscar Wilde and his band of 'aesthetes' does not contain as many well-known tunes as some of the other operettas by this famous pair, but the ones selected by the arranger Carlo Martelli for inclusion in this medley are no less charming and delightful.

Sullivan rarely wrote the overtures to his operettas, a duty he usually designated to his associate and copyist, but the overture to Iolanthe is entirely of his own composition, hence its superiority over most of the others. Carlo Martelli's arrangement is based largely on this overture.

The first of Sullivan's operettas to establish the pattern of what became known as the Savoy Operas, this medley contains several of the best tunes from H.M.S. Pinafore and is, as always with Carlo Martelli, beautifully arranged.

Like the music of the more famous operettas, this fine concert overture is rich in spontaneous melody, humorous, rhythmically subtle, harmonized and orchestrated in perfect taste. Carlo Martelli, the arranger of this string quartet reduction has captured the spirit of the original to perfection.