Review

Giuseppe Verdi
Ave Maria Scala Enigmatica Armonizzata:

Arranged by Denis Jiron

Brass Ensemble: 13-part brass ensemble: B-flat cornet, 3 flugelhorns, 4 F horns, 2 trombones, bass trombone, euphonium, tuba

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2021
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts.

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

The Ave Maria Scala Enigmatica Armonizzata is a wonderfully gorgeous work by Giuseppe Verdi with origins both bizarre and fascinating. In 1888, a peculiar “scala-rebus,” or musical puzzle, found its way into the Gazzetta musicale di Milano, a musical journal in Italy popular in the 19th century. The scale resembles a blend of Phrygian, whole tone, chromatic, and melodic minor elements:

ascending: C – D-flat – E – F-sharp – G-sharp – A-sharp – B – C
descending: C – B – A-sharp – G-sharp – F – E – D-flat – C

The puzzle’s creator, later revealed to be Adolfo Crescentini, sought to provide an enjoyable exercise for “those musicians who enjoy the study of harmony.” Though Verdi originally intended to leave this Ave Maria unpublished because he deemed that it “wasn’t true music” and that it was just “a game,” he later reworked the piece and it became the first movement of the Quattro Pezzi Sacri. Denis Jiron has reimagined Verdi’s “musical game” with a rather ambitious brass ensemble.

This is not Jiron’s first venture into orchestrating Verdi’s Scala Enigmatica, having first done so for a brass octet, also published by Cherry Classics and reviewed for the ITA Journal by Keith Davies Jones in July 2021. Virtually identical to its predecessor, the original arrangement chose to utilize only members of the trumpet and trombone families, while also changing the scale from its “C” starting pitch to “G-sharp.” With the arrival of this new edition, Jiron appears to have chosen a more illustrious instrumentation, utilizing a trumpet (cornet) (g1 – a-flat2), three flugelhorns (c1 – a-flat2), four horns (c1 – a2), two tenor trombones (B – a1), bass trombone (D-flat – d1), euphonium (G – d1), and tuba (AA-flat – d-flat), while also staying true to the original “scala-rebus.”

Given the unusual nature of the scale utilized in the creation of this composition, an equally unusual timbral sound space seems both bold and uniquely appropriate. With such a divergent sound palette, timbre becomes less about color and more elemental in the form of the composition. In no way is this more apparent than Jiron’s treatment of the tuba, which only plays thirteen out of seventy-one measures of music.

Knowing the importance of timbral coupling in this arrangement, it is important that the individual on the principal trombone part is acutely aware not to play over their high brass counterparts. Verdi’s original work opens with such solemnity, and an overpowering of any one voice can ruin the gesture. To compliment the timbral intention, the clear musical intent found throughout is masterfully done and clearly evocative of a vocal performance. Jiron has adequately incorporated articulations familiar to brass musicians to capture the musical inflection found in performances of Verdi’s Ave Maria.

While the arrangement is sound, editorially it could have benefited from one final draft, as two moments would indicate. First, in measures 6-7 the cornet and first flugelhorn parts have written unisons, however beat 4 of measure 6 and beat 1 of measure 7 represent the same note as either a G-flat or F-sharp, respectively. Though seemingly arbitrary, such a misprint can hinder a rehearsal and should instead be written uniformly. Secondly, between measures 60-64 the bass trombone and euphonium, while written in unison, have drastically different phrase markings. As with the above error, uniformity is key in unison writing to ensure unison execution of a musical gesture.

Jiron’s second arrangement of Verdi’s Ave Maria more faithfully represents its source material. While flugelhorns may not be idyllic for such an ensemble, the bizarre orchestration seems fitting for a composition conceived from an equally unique setting.