Review

Pietro Mascagni
Intermezzo Sinfonico: from the Opera Cavalleria Rusticana

Arranged by V. Gionanidis

3 C trumpets, B-flat flugelhorn, 2 F horns, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2020
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 6+ brass (choir)

This transcription, in the original key of F major, is scored for three trumpets in C, flugelhorn in B-flat, two horns in F, two trombones, bass trombone and tuba, and is comprised of 48 measures. The original scoring was for strings and organ. The melody is introduced by solo flugelhorn, continued after 12 measures by the trumpets. There is clarity of texture throughout and no unnecessary doubling. Available combinations are imaginatively employed. The tutti ensemble plays in only 14 out of 48 measures. Trombones have a supporting role; their parts, given in bass clef, lie in mid-upper register. Overall range for trombone 1 is c-b-flat¹, for trombone 2, f-c¹ and for bass trombone, D-b-flat. Range for first trumpet is d¹-a², and for flugelhorn b-e².

The cover picture is a scene from the opera's premiere in 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, depicting Santuzza and Lucia outside the church. Vikentios Gionanidis, born in Corfu in 1988, plays tuba in the orchestra of Deutsche Opera Berlin, and is also a conductor and orchestrator.