Potpourri

What it means

A potpourri is a stringing together of well-known melodies, usually from a shared circle — an opera, an operetta, the work of one composer, or a repertoire of popular songs. The individual pieces are connected by short transitions, often with an introduction and an effective ending. No development takes place; the form arises through sequencing and contrast.

Musical use

Such compilations belong to the entertainment music of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and were, before recordings became generally available, an important way of getting to know music: whoever could not attend an opera heard its melodies in the potpourri of the spa orchestra or played them at home from the vocal score. Arrangements for wind band, salon orchestra, and piano have appeared in large numbers. Musically the quality depends on the transitions and on the sequence: good potpourris order the pieces by key and character so that an arc results, weak ones string them together without a plan.

Performance practice

Plan the transitions carefully, for there it is decided whether the piece holds together; rehearse them separately. Shape the individual sections distinctly differently in character, so that no uniformity arises, and watch the tempo relations. Keep the overall length in view; potpourris rarely work when they turn out too long. With arrangements, check the scoring indications and adapt them to the forces available. Name the sources used in the programme.

Bear in mind that the order of the pieces decides the effect: a sequence ordered by key and character produces an arc, an arbitrary sequence tires. Check the layout of the arrangement and adjust it if necessary. Rehearse the transitions separately, because coherence arises there. Watch the tempo relations between the sections. Keep the overall length in view and name the sources used in the programme, so that the audience recognizes the references.

Check whether the arrangement uses copyrighted sources before performing it publicly.

Also check whether the arrangement fits the available scoring, because such editions often presuppose fixed parts.