as a musical and dramatic element in selected operas …
TRANSCRIPT
THE TRUMPET AS A MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC ELEMENT IN SELECTED OPERAS
OF GIOACHINO ROSSINI AND GIUSEPPE VERDI: ITS EMPLOYMENT IN
ON-STAGE AND OFF-STAGE INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLES,
A LECTURE RECITAL, TOGETHER WITH THREE
RECITALS OF SELECTED WORKS OF
J.G.B. NERUDA, P. HINDEMITH,
G. ANTHEIL AND
OTHERS
Grant S. Peters, B. Mus. Ed., M. Mus.
APPROVED:
iva~rrP ofessor
Minor Professor
Committee Member
Comli tee Member
Dean of the College of Music
Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School ofGraduate Studies
THE TRUMPET AS A MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC ELEMENT IN SELECTED OPERAS
OF GIOACHINO ROSSINI AND GIUSEPPE VERDI: ITS EMPLOYMENT IN
ON-STAGE AND OFF-STAGE INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLES,
A LECTURE RECITAL, TOGETHER WITH THREE
RECITALS OF SELECTED WORKS OF
J.G.B. NERUDA, P. HINDEMITH,
G. ANTHEIL AND
OTHERS
DISSERTATION
Presented to the Graduate Council of the
University of North Texas in partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
by
Grant S. Peters, B. Mus. Ed., M. Mus.
Denton, Texas
December, 1998
Peters, Grant S., The Trumpet as a Musical and Dramatic Element in Selected Operas
of Gioachino Rossini and Giuseppe Verdi: Its Employment in On-stage and Off-stage
Instrumental Ensembles, A Lecture Recital, Together with Three Recitals of Selected
Works of J.G.B. Neruda, P. Hindemith, G. Antheil and Others. Doctor of Musical Arts
(Performance), December, 1998, 60 pp., 36 musical examples, bibliography, 59 titles.
The popularity of the miscellaneous wind bands in Italian society through the
centuries, and the prominent use of the trumpet within these ensembles and as a solo
instrument, become evident in the examination of the development of the banda sul palco
(the band on stage) in Italian opera. Gioachino Rossini was the first to use the banda sul
palco (stage band) with any regularity. Giovanni Paisiello, Giuseppe Gazzaniga, and
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart must be considered earlier contributors to the growing
movement of using instrumental ensembles on stage.
The culmination of the development of the banda sul palco in nineteenth-century
opera can be seen in the creations of Giuseppe Verdi. Six operas selected for this study
represent Verdi's diversity of styles in operatic banda composition. Nabucco (1842)
provides an example of creative staging and the use of the minor mode for dramatic effect.
The affective use of key relationship for the heightening of dramatic settings is also used in
the 1844 work Ernani. In Act II, scene iv, Verdi employs the historical military writing
style for the trumpet in the major mode. This military affiliation with trumpets is also
evident in the banda of La battaglia di Legnano (1849), while Rigoletto (1851) and Un
ballo in maschera (1859) integrate the societal element of banda tunes with the musical
characterizations and situations found in ballroom scenes. The introduction of the Egyptian
trumpet fanfare in Aida (1871) supplemented the banda in creating a spectacular dramatic
effect.
In the patriotic setting of nineteenth-century Italy, the inclusion of the trumpet in
Italian society's popular wind bands provides Verdi, within the context of his operas, a
compositional device of special dramatic and musical meaning to his audiences.
Tape recordings of all performances submitted as dissertation requirements are on deposit
in the University of North Texas Library.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people have played an important role in the completion of this doctoral degree.
I am sincerely appreciative of Dr. Deanna Bush and Dr. Michael Collins for their guidance
in the research and preparation of this document.
As my major professor, Dr. Leonard Candelaria has been a constant source of
professional and personal guidance for over a decade. I am especially thankful for his
insistence on my achieving the highest level of scholarship and performance. These are
qualities he exhibits, and are the standards our profession has come to expect.
My sisters Camille and Cecily, and the members of my extended families, the
Wagners, Rodriguez and Alcocers provided me with much needed encouragement. My
parents, Kermit and Sondra Peters have provided every imaginable type of support
throughout my life and career, teaching me patience and persistence when I had neither.
They are examples of the type of person I hope I can be.
Finally, my wife Eugenia, who is the unending source of my happiness and without
whom my life was not complete. It is her presence in my life that gives my work meaning.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..........................................................................iv
LIST OF EXAMPLES...........................................................................vi
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ...................... 1
Introduction ........................................... ....................... 1Historical Perspective.............................................................. 2The Early Use of the Banda................................................e3
II. THE TRUMPET AND BANDA IN ROSSINI'S OPERAS ................. 10
Gioachino Rossini ................................................................ 10Otello (18 16)1...............&..................................................... .11Ricciardo e Zoraide (1818) .................................................... 13Mose in Egitto (1818).......................................18La donna del lago (1819)..................................................... 20
III. THE TRUMPET AND BANDA IN VERDI'S OPERAS ....................... 24
G iuseppe V erdi....................................................................24Adagio for Trumpet and Orchestra (1836-39)..............................26Nabucco (1842).................................................................27Ernani (1844)..................................................................32La battaglia di Legnano (1849)................................................36Rigoletto (1851)....................................... 38Un ballo en maschera (1859).................................................42A ida (187 1)........................................................................ 47
IV. CONCLUSION......................................................................54
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................5
V
LIST OF EXAMPLES
Example Page
1. Paisiello Pirro, Act II, scene ix, military band on-stage,m easures 20 - 35 ............................................................................ 4
2. Gazzaniga Il convitato di pietra, introduction to Finale,m easures 1 - 5 ............................................................................... 5
3. Gazzaniga Il convitato di pietra, Finale, first dance tune,m easures 1 - 6............................................................................. 5
4. Gazzaniga Il convitato di pietra, Finale, second dance tune,measures 61 - 66................ .............................. 6
5. Gazzaniga Il convitato di pietra, Finale, third dance tune,m easures 113 -17 ........................................................................... 6
6. Mozart Don Giovanni, introduction to Act II, Finale,m easures 1 -7 .............................................................................. 7
7. Mozart Don Giovanni, "Cosa rara", Act II, Finale, first dance tune,m easures 51 -58 ............................................................................ 7
8. Mozart Don Giovanni, "Fra i due litiganti", Act II, Finale, second dance tune,m easures 118 -25........................................................................... 7
9. Mozart Don Giovanni, "Le nozze di Figaro", Act II, Finale, third dance tune,m easures 162 - 67........................................................................... 8
10. Rossini Otello, "Marziale", Act I, Introduzione, banda-like group within orchestra,m easures 119 - 127 ...................................................................... 12
11. Rossini Ricciardo e Zoraide, "Sinfonia", Act I, Introduzione, banda melody,m easures 1 - 26.......................................................................... 14
12. Rossini Ricciardo e Zoraide, "Sinfonia", Act I, Introduzione, banda full scorem easures 1 - 26.......................................................................... 16
13. Harmonic Series for the Natural Trumpet pitched in C and in G.........................18
14. Rossini Mose in Egitto, "Preghiera", Act III, #11, banda melody,m easures 1 - 52 ......................................................................... 19
15. Rossini La donna del lago, Act I, Finale, banda score,m easures 1 - 10..........................................................................21
vi
16. Verdi Adagio for Trumpet and Orchestra, melody,m easures 1 - 25..........................................................................27
17. Verdi Nabucco, "Marcia funebre", Act IV, scene ii, march melody w/libretto,m easures 66 - 84........................................................................29
18. Verdi Nabucco, "Marcia funebre", Act IV, scene iii, banda score,m easures 1 - 32 ......................................................................... 30
19. Verdi Ernani, Act III, scene iv, trumpet processional for sei Trombe interne,measures 14 - 21............... .............................. 33
20. Verdi Ernani, Act IV, scene i "Festa da ballo", first dance tune,m easures 8 - 32..........................................................................34
21. Verdi Ernani, Act IV, scene ii "Festa da ballo", second dance tune,m easures 57 -79 ........................................................................ 35
22. Verdi La battaglia di Legnano, Act 11, Finale, march tune,measures 91 - 109......................................................................37
23. Verdi Rigoletto, Act I, #2, "Introduzione", banda melody #1,m easures 1 - 8 .............................................................................. 40
24. Verdi Rigoletto, Act I, #2, "Introduzione", banda melody #2,m easures 9 - 16..........................................................................40
25. Verdi Rigoletto, Act I, #2, "Introduzione", banda melody #3,measures 17 -24 ....................................................................... 40
26. Verdi Rigoletto, Act I, #2, "Introduzione", banda melody #4,m easures 25 - 41 ........................................................................ 40
27. Verdi Rigoletto, Act I, #2, "Introduzione", banda melody #5,m easures 42 -56 .......................................................................... 41
28. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act III, scene ii, banda tune - major,m easures 79 - 94 ........................................................................ 43
29. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act III, scene ii, banda tune - minor,measures 80 - 100......................................................................44
30. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act Ill, scene ii, return of banda tune - major,m easures 101 - 117 ........................................................................ 44
31. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act III, Finale, first dance tune,m easures 151 - 166........................................................................45
vii
32. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act III, Finale, second dance tune,m easures 183 - 198 ...................................................................... 45
33. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act III, Finale, third dance tune,m easures 231 - 246 .................................................................... 46
34. Verdi Aida, Act II, Finale, "Gloria all'Egitto", banda "hymn" melody,m easures 25 - 34........................................................................ 48
35. Verdi Aida, Act II, Finale, "Triumphal March", A-flat trumpet melody,m easures 90 - 112...................................................................... 50
36. Verdi Aida, Act II, Finale, "Triumphal March", A-flat & B-natural trumpets,measures 124 - 134............ ........... o.......................................50
vi
University of North Texas
uV Al
presents
A Graduate Recital
GRANT S. PETERS, trumpetassisted by
Kathryn Fouse, piano * Kermit Peters, oboeJames Hobbs, oboe - Jill Bergman, oboe
Karen Paradis, bassoon
Monday, April 19, 1993 8:15 p.m. Concert Hall
Sonata for Trumpet and Piano............... ... Paul HindemithMit Kraft (1895-1963)Mdfig BewegtTrauermusik - Sehr Langsam
Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra.-....AndanteAllegro
- Intermission -
Legend.........--.-----.-.......
... Vincenzo Bellini(1801-1835)
... Georges Enesco(1881-1955)
Concerto for Trumpet, 3 Oboes, Bassoon,and Continuo ................-- -- -............. Tomaso Albinoni
Allegro Moderato (1671-1750)AffettuosoPresto
Presented in partial fulfillment of therequirement for the degree of
Doctor of Musical Arts
ix
University of North Texas
I
Concert Hall
Concerto for Trumpet and Piano . ... .... .. .0. . . *.....Alexander Arutunian
Concerto in Dfor Trumpet and Orchestra.................G. P. TelemannAdagioAllegroGraveAllegro
- Intermission -
Proclamation for Trumpet and Piano ....................... Ernest Bloch
Concertpiece, Opus 12.............................Vassily Brandt
Presented in partial fulfillment of therequirements for the degree of
Doctor of Musical Arts
x
presents
A Graduate Recital
GRANT S. PETERS, trumpetaccompanied by
Kathryn Fouse, piano
Monday, November 6, 1995 8:00 pm
University of North Texas
-,presents
A Graduate Recital
GRANT S. PETERS, trumpetaccompanied by
Kathryn Fouse, piano
Monday, April 22, 1996 6:30 pm
Concerto in Eb . ... *...... .... . .. . . . . . . . ..AllegroLargoVivace
Recital Hall
J.G.B. Neruda
Sinfonia in D (G. 8)..0.0. . . .6......0......o.i..........Giuseppe TorelliAllegroAdagioAllegroAllegro
- Intermission -
The Hollow Men ... *. .0.6. .a. . . . 0.a.*.0.. ... W.......... Vincent Persichetti
Sonata for Trumpet and Piano............AllegrettoDolce - EspressivoVivaceAllegretto
.. George Antheil
Presented in partial fulfillment of therequirements for the degree of
Doctor of Musical Arts
xi
m ammom
University of North TexasLOOF9
presents
A Doctoral Lecture Recital
GRANT S. PETERS, trumpet
Monday, July 13, 1998 5:00 pm Recital Hall
THE TRUMPET AS A MUSICAL AND DRAMATICELEMENT IN SELECTED OPERAS OF GIUSEPPE VERDI:
ITS EMPLOYMENT IN ON-STAGE AND OFF-STAGEINSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLES.
Toccata from L'Orfeo (1607)......................Claudio Monteverdi(1567-1643)
Adagiofor Trwnpet and Orchestra (1836-1839).............Giuseppe Verdi(1813-1901)
Ernani (1844)..................................Giuseppe VerdiSei trombe interne, Act III, scene iv
La battaglia di Legnano (1849)Istrnenti militari, Act II, Finale
Nabucco (1842)Marcia funebre, Act IV, scene ii
Rigoletto (1851) ....... .. . ....................... Giuseppe VerdiAct I, Introduzione
Un ballo in maschera (1859)Act III, Finale
Aida (1871) ..................................... Giuseppe VerdiGran marcia, Act IL Finale
Presented in partial fulfillment of therequirements for the degree of
Doctor of Musical Arts
xi
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Introduction
One of the first Italian opera composers to use a specific group of instruments for
dramatic effect (in this case, trumpets), was Claudio Monteverdi in the opening Toccata of
his L'Orfeo (1607). Regardless of whether Monteverdi's group of trumpets in L'Orfeo
should be considered an ancestor of the banda, the use of an ensemble of trumpets provides
the reader an example of writing for the trumpet in early opera. It is not until the late
eighteenth century that we find examples of instrumental ensembles, later known as bande,
being used on stage as an integral element of the opera.
Gioachino Rossini was the first to use the banda sulpalco (stage band) with any
regularity, but a few others made earlier contributions to the growing movement of using
instrumental ensembles on stage: works by Giovanni Paisiello, Giuseppe Gazzaniga, and
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart must be considered a part of the development of the banda.
The culmination of the development of the banda sulpalco in the nineteenth century,
or perhaps in operatic history, can be seen in the creations of Giuseppe Verdi. The
composer's body of work in opera exhibits an imaginative integration of the patriotic
sentiment surrounding the socio-political issues of nineteenth-century Italy into the diverse
subject matter of his dramas. His twenty-eight operas were composed in large part during
Italy's struggle for independence and eventual reunification known as the Risorgimento.
The environment created by such turmoil resulted in an outpouring of patriotism,
contributing to the increased participation in music by the public as part of their daily lives.
The highly visible military and municipal wind bands grew in popularity during this time,
1
2
and Verdi recognized the use of the musical and visual elements of the banda as a vehicle to
reach his audience.
Historical Perspective
By the beginning of the seventeenth century the natural trumpet had evolved into the
valveless instrument that would be used by players until the advent of a keyed instrument
nearly two hundred years later. Although minor constructional differences existed in
instruments from different countries and makers, the typical design of the natural trumpet
remained unchanged until well into the nineteenth century.
During the years from the late sixteenth century until the time of Rossini and Verdi in
the nineteenth century, the trumpet in Italy functioned in both solo and ensemble capacities.
As a solo instrument, the trumpet had for centuries served a role in society: as a signaling
instrument during times of war, when playing festival fanfares and when playing from
towers at predetermined times during the day. The trumpet's function as an ensemble
instrument in Italian wind bands was firmly established in the late sixteenth century. These
bands included groups of various winds, combinations of winds with percussion
instruments, and groups of trumpets. Such bands, assembled for courtly, military, civic
and church functions, were part of musical society throughout Europe.
In Italy, trumpet choirs and instrumental ensembles thrived at courts such as those of
the Grand Duke Ferdinando II of Tuscany and Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga of Mantua.
Trumpet ensembles consisting of four or five players were common, appearing ". . . on
great public occasions such as horse parades, fireworks, funeral processions, and the
celebration of cardinals, etc."' Representation of such an ensemble can be found in the
Toccata from L'Orfeo by Monteverdi. His addition to the orchestra of an ensemble of
trumpets to signal the beginning of the opera seems to clearly indicate his belief that the
fanfare-like flourish of trumpets would have a powerful effect upon the audience. By the
3
seventeenth century these small instrumental ensembles, typical of military and town bands
of the period, often including trumpets, had found a place in the everyday lives of Italians.
Early Use of the Banda
The earliest predecessors of the instrumental ensemble in Italian opera, later known
as the banda, appear to date from the early seventeenth century, in which a handful of
works are cited by Whitwell:
"* . . examples of early opera also include some music which must reflect theparticipation of courtly wind ensembles. The examples of fanfares in L'Orfeo(Monteverdi) and Ipomo d'oro (Cesti) immediately come to mind, but also thefive part instrumental chiamata alla caccia, in Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo (Cavalli,1639), for chiamata was a seventeenth century term for military fanfare.2
These groups differ greatly in instrumentation and purpose from their counterparts in
nineteenth-century opera, and the transition can best be seen in the late eighteenth-century
operas, which used musicians on stage. Three operas from the same year 1787, Paisiello's
Pirro, Gazzaniga's I convitato di pietra, and Mozart's Don Giovanni illustrate this use.
With the exclusion of the introduction in the Mozart (Example 6), none of these stage
ensembles includes the trumpet, (the banda required no specific wind instrumentation)
but instead needed only to be a separate entity from the orchestra. Regardless of
instrumentation, these early examples reveal the beginnings in the seventeenth century
of a trend to include musicians on-stage in opera for dramatic effect.
In January of 1787, Paisiello premiered his dramma per musica in three acts, based
on Greek mythology. The composer, in an attempt to create a new type of serious opera,
introduced ensembles to the stage. A number of ensembles are used, but one of particular
interest involves a military band. In Act II of Pirro, Paisiello introduces the military band
marching across the stage as Pirro sings of his love for Polissina. 3 The band's presence
indicates the sudden arrival of Ulisse and troops of soldiers gathering nearby (Example 1).
4
The abrupt change in musical style from Pirro's interrupted aria to the march tune is
made dramatically effective by including the on-stage band, comprised of oboe, clarinet,
bassoon, horn and timpani. Paisiello, considered to have had a stylistic influence upon
Mozart, is referred to by Donald Jay Grout as a "master of musical characterization." 4 He
goes on to say that "Paisiello's gifts are apparent in his orchestral writing, which is more
varied and more important dramatically than any earlier buffo composer." 5
Example 1. Paisiello Pirro, Act II, scene ix, military band on stage,measures 20 - 35.
Aria di Pirro: Cara negli bcxhi tuoi Si pasce il mio desire Per te saprb morire, saprb....Pirro s Aria: Dearest in your eyes my desire is fulfilled For you I shall be ready to die, be ready....
ma chi savanza!but who is coming!
Ulisse!...Ulysses!
doM ILOboi An I F M I pas L4wwffiowwo IRt(n F: ::r_10 W 106 1 -j OW I- now I-Z X rzI I-A - - -0
" 'F 'b" OL IK P, PIE*
Clarinetfi 6k PW But=-W ill) I WW -III I III
r-,%* a oil op -u-4PFagotti -010! = r
0 0 01Comi & I- I I IQv -Z ai iejTimpani 4 0 op lop lop 11 lop 'if 10 wl I I r
ah non tenere ....................... A non --tenerel ............fear not ......... ................ fear not! ............
..... ......... .. I L
do
-JF BLUE F a6k
Ma on on6r
K I 6mJ
In Gazzaniga's II convitato di pietra (The Stone Guest), premiered in Venice in 1787,
the composer employs a stage band with oboes, clarinets, horns and strings to perform the
introduction and three dance tunes each in different styles, keys, and meters in the Finale
- -l-: An.
=am= r u 1 1 i u rd
5
(Examples 2 - 5). Mozart's Don Giovanni is based on the same story as I convitato. In
fact, Mozart's librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte, used Gazzaniga's one-act comic opera to
develop his version. It seems likely that Mozart took note of Gazzaniga's music as he
further developed the use of stage musicians in his version of Don Giovanni, premiered at
the National Theatre in Prague, also in 1787. Again, it is noted that neither Gazzaniga's
nor Mozart's band includes the trumpet. Since the stage musicians performing hausmusik,
or "house music," were part of the indoor drama, the use of trumpets, normally reserved
for outdoor functions, might have been considered inappropriate.
Example 2. Gazzaniga Il convitato di pietra, introduction to Finale,measures 1 - 5.
Andante
Oboes 4r
Corni in:
Via
Viol
E-flat
lino I
fino 1
ViolaI pkO
C fPVioloncello & Basso
pf
Example 3. Gazzaniga II convitato di pietra, Finale, first dance tune,measures 1 - 6.
Allegro ma non tanto
Corni in C
Violino II
Violino I ji
oV_ _l_B s rpm_ _ft
p__r___ __1___
Vioonc llo & ass ______A__IE____
.pI
6
Example 4. Gazzaniga II convitato di pietra, Finale, second dance tune,measures 61 - 66.
Andante
Oboes
Corni in C
p4
sotto voce _
Violino II
sotto voce*
Viola
sotto voce Ip I I
Violoncello & Basso .
sotto voce p
Example 5. Gazzaniga Il convitato di pietra, Finale, third dance tune,measures 113 -17.
Andante
Oboes
ViolinoLF
sotto voce
Corni in P"dFRI
Violin II
sotto voce
Viola : I7=7
Li I AOP 10 i I ::D I IViolonceHo & BassolI r
sotto voce I r I r
sotto voce
:C- * 4&a
r 6r n~m
Iwm-
In addition to the three pieces performed by on-stage string ensembles in the Act I
Finale of Don Giovanni, Mozart used three small wind orchestras on stage in the Finale of
Act II to perform a series of popular tunes (Examples 7 - 9). The popular melodies from
operas of the time (Cosa rara of Vicente Martin y Soler, Fra i due litiganti of Giuseppe
Sarti, and Le nozze di Figaro of Mozart) are heard after the introduction, all in different
meters, accompanying the banquet scene. In addition to the visual effect of having
musicians on stage, Pierluigi Petrobelli speaks of the importance of Mozart's musical
i i I i
I
f
7
content in saying ". . . The simplest, most basic musical means that a composer can use
to create a festive atmosphere are dance tunes and rhythms . . . . 6
Example 6. Mozart Don Giovanni, introduction to Act II, Finale,measures 1 - 7.
Allegro vivace
Flutes *
Oboes '
Clarinets in A
V
Bassoons__
AHorns in D
p .__.-
I I
* *
I A
Trumpets in Dm' i 74 :4_ _ _
J) f
Example 7. Mozart Don Giovanni, "Cosa rara", Act II, Finale, first dance tune,measures 51 - 58.
OboeI I I II
Clarinet I in A
Clarinet II in A ;j
BassoonF F_ _ _ _Ss
Example 8. Mozart Don Giovanni, "Fra i due litiganti", Act II, Finale, second dance tune,measures 118 - 25.
IL . .a it -o-
Oboes
Clarinets in B-flat
!1
Bassoons __________ _______-_4- _0 ______
-A. I I IHorns in F
-:v
7FP- -pr *iw 'or a -ro PrOE
-- I I - --- -, - " '% I I -op
-a- I;-!
I f & .;.- -.,t t
I' I
r
-IL
I I
ii
1
Ir-
I ftm,-- I l PWRBN-
.
i I I I *-- ,.-. - 11.T
--k -t..-I Ic- -.t - - -i1- -0- _ -0-
IOL
8
Example 9. Mozart Don Giovanni, "Le nozze di Figaro", Act II, Finale, third dance tune,measures 162 - 67.
Oboes ------ - - - _- _-- --
Clarinet I in B-
Clarinet II in B-
flat
flat
k k L I iL L
Bassoons b MR III_1__1.1 - - w- 1
Horns in B-flat
The use of instrumental ensembles on stage was a growing convention at the end of
the eighteenth century. The examination of selected works of Rossini in the early 1800's
will illustrate the composer's attempts to develop and integrate the banda into a variety of
dramatic situations.
I vAI I I I
V
is ,
it
rA 1 i i
9
Endnotes
David Whitwell, A Concise History of the Wind Band (Northridge, California:Winds, 1985), 130.
2 Ibid., 188.
3 Gordana Lazarevich, "Pirro," The New Groves Dictionary of Opera, Vol. 3,(New York: Macmillan Press, 1992), 1020-21.
4 Donald Jay Grout, A Short History of Opera, 3rd ed. (New York: Columbia UniversityPress, 1988), 289.
s Ibid., 289.
6 Pierluigi Petrobelli, Music in the Theatre: Essays on Verdi and Other Composers(Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1994), 35.
CHAPTER 2
THE TRUMPET AND BANDA IN ROSSINI'S OPERA
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
The importance of Gioachino Rossini to nineteenth-century Italian opera cannot be
overstated. The composer revolutionized Italian opera through the utilization of musical
forms, techniques of orchestration, imaginative rhythmic devices and the creative
heightening of the drama through the use of varied musical elements. Rossini's operas are
an important link to understanding the evolution of the wind band or banda as it was used
in Italian opera throughout the 1800's.
Rossini was born in Pesaro on February 29, 1792 to musician parents who involved
their son in the town's musical functions at an early age. His father Giuseppe was
employed as a hornist, and his mother Anna was an accomplished soprano. Perhaps
influenced by his father's service as a horn player for the local municipality, Gioachino
". . . at the age of only six years and two months, belonged to the armed forces of the
Pesarese revolution and in them carried out the duties of the Listaro of the band. . .
Evidently Rossini was the small mascot of the band."' (Although it is unclear whether the
listaro inferred the keeper of the list of bandsmen, or perhaps the player of the triangle-like
lista, it is evident that the military band impressed him as an important element of society.)
One can only imagine how the memories of his involvement as a member of this band
might have affected his decision to use similar ensembles in his operas in later years.
Although his career spanned nearly six decades, it is remarkable that his thirty-nine
operas were composed during a period of only seventeen years. In describing Rossini's
general style, Donald Jay Grout says, "Very few composers have equaled Rossini in
rhythmic elan and sheer tunefulness. It is difficult to analyze the patent charm of these
10
11
apparently effortless, seemingly artless Rossinian melodies that well forth in a ceaseless
stream from his operas." 2 He describes Rossini's ensemble writing as ". . . always
lively, realistic, and full of contrasts . . ." and his orchestrations as models of ".
clarity, economy of means, and deft choice of instrumental color.. . . ."3
Four operas of Rossini have been selected for study, representing a variety of
appearances by the banda, each example having a unique significance to this topic. In
Otello (1816), the banda effect was achieved by the instruments within the orchestra.
Ricciardo e Zoraide (1818) contained the first appearance in a Rossini opera of the banda
sul palco (band on stage). Mose in Egitto (1818) represents the only banda score in
Rossini's own hand. La donna del lago (1823) represents the influence of an earlier
musical model - in this case, that of Mozart's Don Goivanni.
Otello (1816)
Rossini's Otello, after the libretto of Francesco Maria Berio, was premiered at Naples
in December of 1816. With the increased use of instrumental ensembles in opera during
the late eighteenth century, it is important to clearly identify the ensemble being designated
by composers as the banda sul palco. Robert Longyear provides this description:
. . . During the nineteenth century, the use of a band of wind players, spatiallyseparated from the orchestra, performing on the stage (hence the name banda sulpalco, in the wings, or even under the stage, became a frequent dramatic effect inopera, mainly in Italy and France . . . In many cases the instrumentation andsonority of the stage band differs from that of the orchestra in the pit.4
The score of Otello features a banda within the orchestra to create a wind band effect. This
earlier use of instruments in the pit to provide band music may be presumed to be
experimental by Rossini to test its effectiveness in the drama, since he first employed the
banda on stage just two years later.
In the Introduzione (#1) "Viva Otello, " (Example 10) a group of wind instruments
12
Example 10. Rossini Otello, "Marziale", Act I, Introduzione, banda-like group withinorchestra, measures 119 - 127.
Marziale
__ _ _ _I _ _ _ _
Clarinetti in B flat
PP sottovoce
Fagotti- -
PP sottovoce
Corni in E flat
PP sottovoce
Trombe in B flat
Tromboni 4
pP sottovoce
Timpani in F
vA ! V
within the orchestra, including 2 ottavini (piccolo), 2 oboi, 2 clarinetti in C, 2 fagotti, 2
corni in F, :2 trombe in B flat, 3 tromboni, and timpani, provide dramatic background as
Otello enters to general acclaim upon his return to Venice from one of his many brilliant
military victories. While the clarinets present the crisp, rhythmic melody, some doubling is
Cl
A
13
evident in the bassoon and horns. The trumpets and trombones are assigned harmonic
reinforcements, most notably at phrase endings. As will become evident in this study, the
relationship between bands and military presence is quite common in nineteenth-century
opera when the drama centers around military conquests and heroic characters.
Ricciardo e Zoraide (1818)
Ricciardo e Zoraide, premiered in 1818 at the Teatro San Carlos in Naples, is based
loosely upon Niccolo Forteguerri's poem Il Ricciardetto. This two-act drama, with libretto
by Francesco Berio, is significant in tracing the development of the instrumental stage
ensemble, or banda sul palco, as a vehicle for dramatic effect in nineteenth-century opera.
In his introduction to the facsimile edition of the Ricciardo score, Philip Gossett tells us
that:
. . . For the first time Rossini introduces a banda sulpalco, a stage band.This is not the first time in the history of opera that instruments were played onstage (one need only cite Mozart), nor even the first appearance of a stage band(Paisiello is frequently mentioned as a precursor), but the craze for introducingstage bands derives from Rossini. 5
A less than enthusiastic view of this ensemble is offered by Julian Budden, in which
he considers that the use of the banda for dramatic effect was to become overused and trite.
Other less important devices of Rossini's remained in vogue long after his ownretirement from the musical stage. Clearly a dark day dawned for Italian opera whenin Ricciardo e Zoraide (1818) he introduced a stage band. From then on the bandabecame de rigueur for any context in which its presence was faintly plausible.6
The dramatic possibilities of this "new" banda, although apparently questioned by some,
became widely used by composers throughout the century.
The story of Ricciardo deals with the familiar conflict surrounding Zoraide, the
daughter of the protective Prince Ircano, the stifled admirer Agorante, and the man she
actually loves, Ricciardo. As a result of their differences over Zoraide, Ircano is driven
14
from Nubia by Agorante's troops at the beginning of the opera. The presence of
Agorante's forces seems the perfect setting for the use of the banda for dramatic effect,
representing the historical union of the military band and, in this case, march music.
Although the banda makes no less than eight appearances in this work, the first is
most typical in its representation of the military dramatic action. The opera begins with a
slow orchestral introduction, after which the banda begins playing as though at a distance,
marked Tutti come da lontano e pianissimo sempre (all at a distance and always very soft).
The banda is scored for ottavino (piccolo), quartino (high clarinet) in F, four clarinets in C,
four trumpets (three in C, one in G), two trombones, serpentone (an S-shaped lip-vibrated
instrument), two bassoons and percussion (bass drum). This full banda is followed by a
". . . contrasting section, with stunning instrumental solos for horn, clarinet, and flute,
but as the curtain rises, the banda returns closer, representing the victorious troops of
Agorante." 7 The return of the banda mentioned by Gossett marks the beginning of the
Sinfonia section of the Introduzione. Both appearances are based on the same lively
melody (Example 11).
Example 11. Rossini Ricciardo e Zoraide, "Sinfonia", Act I, Introduzione, banda melody,measures 1 - 26.
Clarinetl in C )-2
1 I
II.' I__j I
15
A number of techniques are used by Rossini to accomplish the illusion that the troops
are at a distance. The first and most obvious is the dynamic marking of pianissimo for the
first banda entrance, followed by the second entrance at the level of forte, creating an
increased presence. In addition, the first banda entrance features only a single clarinet
playing as the sole melodic instrument, while in the subsequent entrance that line is fortified
with three additional instrumental voices that include the ottavino (piccolo), the quartino,
and the second clarinet, playing in unison.
Perhaps the most interesting method of creating the dramatic effect of distance is
evident in the melody in the banda's first entrance. Measures of rest are placed in the banda
score following each two bar phrase: measures 4, 7, 10, 13-14, 19, 22 and 25-26. A
small wind band within the orchestra answers all or part of the banda's phrase, creating an
echo effect as the repeated music becomes physically nearer the listener at each hearing
(Example 12). Although the full score does not indicate a dynamic difference between the
banda and orchestral wind band entrances, the banda is marked banda sul palco molto
lontana (band on stage very distant), inferring that the orchestral parts should be louder or
seemingly nearer. After the entrance of the chorus singing praise for the victorious
Agorante, the orchestra gradually contributes to the growing presence or "arrival" of the
troops by reinforcing the banda parts rhythmically and harmonically. The". . . opening
instrumental music and introductory chorus are thus fused effectively into a single musical
design, and the banda itself becomes a dramatic force."8
Rossini scores for trumpets in the keys of C, F, and G in various combinations
throughout the Ricciardo score. The valved trumpet was just being developed by inventors
in Europe at the time Ricciardo was premiered in 1818, so Rossini had not yet enjoyed
16
Example 12. Rossini Ricciardo e Zoraide, "Sinfonia", Act I, Introduzione, banda fullscore, measures 1 - 26.
tT15
Quartino
Clarinet 1
in]
0)!A - e".
FW _
j5am~mm
Clarinet 2 in C " I
Clarino in C AJI*
Trombe in C
Tromba in CI)
Tromba in G
Corni in F
Tromboni ___
Serp e Fagotte (o_
_ _ _ _kCassL
Grnpas 4p pI
10A
------ IMF-ipomi 7 Li
P-MWR
3 ............... ....
21 do mw
-Z7
4w owIL t
f I
C.N.oto PE
--------- IMF-
15
in C lotten r!J
pp
at
17
-* 9F
the new instrument's chromatic capabilities. In fact, Birkemeir notes that:
...the earliest orchestral composers to write for the valved trumpet andcomnet-a-piston were French opera composers. The French Grand Opera of the earlynineteenth century was characterized by spectacle and excitement and the new valvedinstruments were an important addition to the orchestra. The first orchestral parts forvalved trumpets were written in Paris in 1827 by Chelard for his opera McBeth.9
Rossini obviously used instruments pitched in different keys to circumvent the
limitations of the natural trumpet in a single key and the pitches in its harmonic series.
In examining the parts from the banda score of the Sinfonia from Ricciardo, one finds that
the composer wrote only two different pitches for the trumpet in G: c' and e'. Since the G
trumpet sounds a perfect fifth higher than the C trumpet, the sounding pitches would be g'
and b'. By studying the harmonic series of the natural trumpet in C and G (Example 13)
we find that although a b-natural can be played by lipping the eighth harmonic, c, down a
20w
18
half step, the fifth harmonic b-natural of the natural trumpet in G could be played much
more easily and with greater volume and quality of tone. Although the trumpet is
commonly included in the banda by Rossini, this study shows that its role in these early
bandas is largely that of harmonic reinforcement, with the more interesting melodic material
assigned to the woodwinds.
Example 13. Harmonic Series for the Natural Trumpet pitched in C and in G.
(Notes made possible through bending or slipping marked with arrows)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
1 N i iI -IW
I I
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
I iO t t
Mose in Egitto (1818)
In the same year that Ricciardo was premiered, another Rossini work important to the
development of the banda was performed for the first time in Naples. Mose in Egitto,
based on the libretto of Andrea Leone Tottola, the biblical account of Moses parting the Red
Sea for the Israelites to escape the Egyptian armies, did not contain a banda part. In
Gossett's introduction to the facsimile score, we learn that "In Mose in Egitto the banda
appears only once, during the Preghiera added in 1819, but this appearance is extremely
important: it is the only known band part scored by Rossini himself Any study of the
banda sulpalco will have to rely heavily on his document."' 0
19
The standard practice was for the composer to provide only two staves of music for
the banda in the score. Rossini ". . . provided only the essential melodic line . . . the
local band master would write an arrangement for the available instruments."" In Mose in
Egitto, however, Rossini provided the complete score for the banda. A study of that score
provides the only actual knowledge of Rossini's intent as to instrumentation, since all other
existing banda scores are arrangements.
The banda appears in the third act in Preghiera e Finale (#11) as the Israelites are
gathered at the shore of the Red Sea. As Moses leads them in prayer, the silence is
interrupted by the sound of a distant band and the announcement that the Egyptian Army is
approaching. The most dramatic scene follows shortly thereafter as Moses parts the Red
Sea by touching his staff to the water. The melody begins at bar five in the ottavino and
quartino (high clarinet) parts (Example 14), and three exact repetitions of the theme follow.
Example 14. Rossini Mose in Egitto, "Preghiera", Act III, #11, banda melody,measures 1 - 52.
5 10
Ottavino IK 11 i:
20 25
3540
f
Although the banda represents an approaching army, the dynamics do not indicate an effort
to create the effect of closer proximity. Instead, the ominous, somewhat imposing image
20
of the army is conveyed by shifting the tonality of the fourth statement of the melody to a
minor third lower, from A major to F-sharp minor for the final twelve measures.
The instrumentation for Mose's banda includes ottavino, three clarinets, horn, four
trumpets, serpentone and bass drum. The composer again assigns the role of rhythmic and
harmonic reinforcement to the four trumpets (two trumpets in C, one in Bb and another in
F). The melody, perhaps seen by Rossini as too adventurous for the non-chromatic
trumpet, is given to the ottavino (piccolo).
La donna del lago (1819)
Librettist A.L.Tottola's La donna del lago, after Sir Walter Scott's poem The Lady of
the Lake (1810), allows the banda a number of appearances. Of particular interest in this
discussion of dramatic enhancement are the similarities of Rossini's instrumentation used
on stage to that used by Mozart, one of his early influences. During the untangling of the
plot of La donna del lago, which deals with the love of Ellen (Lady of the Lake) and
Malcolm, and the obvious complications of Ellen's impending arranged marriage to another
man (Roderick), a report of the nearby enemy forces intensifies the drama. At this point,
Rossini gathers a large number of performing forces on stage: the soloists, three choruses,
orchestra with harp and an on-stage military band. A march follows, played by a group of
three clarinets, nine trumpets and three trombones (Example 15), which then combines
with the other instruments for the conclusion of the act.
The similarity of this dramatic enhancement to that in the ball scene from the Act 1
Finale of Don Giovanni, provides evidence that Rossini knew of Mozart's success with
instrumental ensembles on stage. We learn from Stendhal that:
Rossini had had the idea of trying to rival the ball-scene from Don Giovanni with itsorchestra, and so he had divided his orchestral resources into two sections, viz., anaccompanied chorus of bards on the one hand and, on the other, a military marchwith trumpets; and these two different musical effects, after each has been heardseparately, come together and are heard simultaneously.12
Example 15. Rossini La donna del lago, Act I, Finale, banda score,measures 1 - 10.
Allegro-A -
2 Clarinet in E flat
-I-
Clarinet in E flat -~_~
Clarinet in B flat -
Trumpet in E flat
I Trumpet in F ---
4if 1V
V -11
5
1 Trumpet in A flat basso
2 Trumpet in B flat basso
1 Trumpet in C -
I Trumpet in A flat alto
1T trumpet in [
__ I,
10
04
44 PF
NJ a 7=7 h-W 40-
I f
3T
F= i4 4 -- of 4-
mop I
21
11
21
2
F-
tJ -d -to- -4- -d! AV-
3 Trombone
F r
towi -0-
22
The most dramatic aspect of the middle section involving the nine trumpets is the somewhat
overpowering effect that the sound of so many trumpets had on audiences. Weinstock
points out the remarks of Rossini biographer Giuseppe Radiciotti, who claimed ". . . the
audience may have been stunned by what seemed to it that unwanted luxuriance of
orchestral and choral sound, by the clangor of trumpets on the stage, by the ingenious
numbers, now lyric, now epic, now dramatic."" In the second performance, the number
of trumpets was halved.
The premiere of La donna at the Th6atre Italien in Paris (1824) drew criticism from
Stendhal. His opinion of the use of the wind band, in particular the trumpets,
overshadowed his review of other aspects of the opera. A translation of a portion of the
review follows: ". . . It is that they [tenor and chorus] were completely eclipsed by
something worse. That evening at the opera the trumpets, which unfortunately are
necessary to La Donna del lago, ripped the ear with strident and outrageous sounds." 14
The nine trumpets required in the score are two in E-flat, one in F, one in A-flat
basso, two in B-flat basso, one in C, one in A-flat alto, and one in G. As in Ricciardo, the
use of trumpets in multiple keys facilitates the widening of both pitch and dynamic ranges.
As would be expected, the writing is largely triadic, and requires each part to perform
pitches available to that instrument's harmonic series. The clarinet and trombone parts,
although capable of more sophisticated lines, provide mostly harmonic reinforcement,
either with the beat, or as after-beats. The trumpets play rhythmically-repetitive patterns
characteristic of a military march.
Rossini can be credited with establishing the role of the banda sul palco in Italian
opera, a practice other composers, including Verdi, would later employ for the
enhancement of numerous dramatic situations in their operas.
23
Endnotes
Herbert Weinstock, Rossini: A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1968), 7.
Donald Jay Grout, A Short History of Opera (New York: Columbia University Press,1988), 405-6.
3 Ibid., 406-8.
4 R.M. Longyear, "The Banda Sul Pulco: Wind Bands in Nineteenth Century Opera,"Journal of Band Research, Vol. 2, No. 13 (Spring 1978), 25.
5 Philip Gossett, introduction to Ricciardo e Zoraide (New York: Garland Publishing,1980), 2.
6 Julian Budden, The Operas of Verdi, (London: Clarendon Press, 1992), Vol. 1, 20.
7 Gossett, op. cit., 2.
' Ibid., 2.
9 Richard P. Birkemeier, "The History and Music of the Orchestral Trumpet of theNineteenth Century," Journal of the International Trumpet Guild, Vol. 9, No. 3,(February, 1985), 29.
'0 Philip Gossett, introduction to Mose in Egitto (New York: Garland Publishing,1979), 3.
" Ibid., 3.
12 Stendhal [Henri Beyle], The Life of Rossini, trans. Richard N. Coe (New York:Riverrun Press, 1985), 388.
1 Cited in Weinstock, op. cit., 97.14 Stendhal [Henri Beyle], quoted in Edizioni Critiche delle Opere di Gioachino Rossini /
La donna del lago, ed. Colin Slim, (Pesaro: Fondazione Rossini, 1990), Preface,xxix.
CHAPTER 3
THE TRUMPET AND BANDA IN VERDI'S OPERAS
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Throughout his youth, Verdi was employed in a variety of musical positions of
importance in the church and community. In addition to his duties as an organist and
conductor, Verdi began composing during his youth ". . . writing music in various
forms practical at Busseto. Thus in 1828 he wrote an overture and marches for the military
band, which then, as now, played so important a part in local Italian life."1
Verdi furthered his career in Milan, and by the age of thirty had become a
nationalistic icon in Italy. His contributions to musical drama must be considered to be
among the most innovative and influential works in nineteenth-century Italian opera. His
works for the stage embraced the public's fever for national unity and for a music native to
their country. In John Rosselli's Music and Musicians in Nineteenth Century Italy, the
author discusses the Napoleonic regime as one that
. :. .brought a craze for military music and led to the setting up of a number ofwindbands, even in small towns. This was a lasting innovation. The wind band inits uniforms became a feature of public holidays and local celebrations, as it still is. Italso found its way into opera, where it was to account for some of the literally andfiguratively brassiest moments in Verdi's early works.2
In the period of revolution in Italy during the 1840's, Verdi's dramas were greatly affected
by the banda; in fact, the wind band's influence continued to be apparent in works
throughout his career.
The majority of Verdi's mature works are for the stage: he produced twenty-six
operas between 1839 and 1893. While his style was innovative, it never ventured far from
24
25
tradition nor experimented radically with new trends. The subjects chosen for his operas,
all but two of which are serious in nature, came from a varied list of librettists. The most
obvious characteristics required of the subjects chosen by Verdi included:
. . . strong emotional situations, contrasts, and speed of action; plausibility wasno object. Consequently most of the plots are violent blood-and-thundermelodramas, full of improbable characters and ridiculous coincidences, but withplenty of opportunity for the exciting, lusty, ferocious melodies and rhythms. 3
The atmosphere of national unity created by Italy's struggle against foreign domination
during the Risorgimento provided Verdi with ample opportunity to emulate the ideals of the
Italian people through his music and the subjects of his dramas.
The period from 1839 through 1849 is commonly referred to as his "grandiose" stage
because of its broad themes and choruses, and includes his first great success, Nabucco
(1842), Ernani (1844), as well as the heavily patriotic La battaglia di Legnano (1849).
The powerful dramas Rigoletto (1851) and I trovatore (1853) employ a more prominent
orchestra, and it was during this three-year period that Verdi's style is thought to have been
influenced greatly by his predecessor, Gaetano Donizetti.
The ensuing thirty years found Verdi, the composer, also active as a politician in
representing Busseto, and then as a senator elected to the national parliament. His
involvement in political activity at this time is reflected in the subject matter of the libretti for
such works as Simon Boccanegra (1857), a medieval tale of love and politics, in Un ballo
in maschera (1859), the account of a Swedish king's assassination, and in the culmination
of three decades of advances in compositional style with his heroic Aida (1871).
The six operas selected for this study represent Verdi's diversity of styles in operatic
banda composition. Nabucco (1842) provides an example of creative staging and the use
of the minor mode for dramatic effect. The affective use of key relationship for the
heightening of dramatic settings is also used in the 1844 work Ernani. In Act III, scene iv,
vlllol"
26
Verdi employs the historical military writing style for the trumpet in the major mode. This
military affiliation with trumpets is also evident in the banda of La battaglia di Legnano
(1849), while Rigoletto (1851) and Un ballo in maschera (1859) integrate the societal
element of banda tunes with the musical characterizations and situations found in ballroom
scenes. The introduction of the Egyptian trumpet fanfare in Aida (1871) supplemented the
banda in creating a spectacular dramatic effect. In addition, Verdi's recently discovered
Adagiofor Trumpet and Orchestra provides an example of writing exclusively for the
trumpet.
In his scores, Verdi customarily included only a keyboard version of the banda part
on two staves, which was a common scoring practice of composers. In performance,
musical directors then assigned the parts to available instruments, creating possibilities for
many different arrangements of the same music. For this reason, when Verdi's own score
or a representative example is not available, an arrangement based on the style of similar
banda scores, or a transcription of a modem performance, is used for examination.4
Adagio for Trumpet and Orchestra (1836-39)
In 1996, a manuscript was discovered sewn into the lining of a chair at Verdi's
birthplace in Busseto, near Parma. This Adagiofor Trumpet and Orchestra was written
during the period of 1836-39, when Verdi was maestro di musici in Busseto. It is thought
that he destroyed many of his works written for the local church there and for the
Filarmonici di Busseto: however, this work remained untouched in the home of his
father-in-law Barezzi. Composed during the time immediately preceding the period of
Verdi's operatic writing, the composition is important in establishing the composer's
apparent interest in assigning purely melodic material to the trumpet, as well as his
understanding of the chromatic abilities of the trumpet available at the time.
27
The Adagio resembles closely the form of the aria and cabaletta used by nineteenth-
century operatic composers such as Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. After a brief orchestral
introduction, the melodic statement is heard, followed by a brief orchestral interlude, and
then a literal repetition of the melody. The cabaletta is based on the same melody, but with
a hastening of the tempo, followed by a coda.
The instrument for which Verdi wrote was pitched in D (probably with keys), which
enabled the player to produce the necessary pitches outside the harmonic series
(Example 16).
Example 16. Verdi Adagiofor Trumpet and Orchestra, melody,measures 1 - 25.
NO7r
/r.1 r:1
Although in this instance Verdi has written melodic lines unlike those traditionally
written for the trumpet, this style was not always evident in his ensuing operatic scores.
Each selected opera, therefore, will be examined for its particular instrumentation and style
of writing.
Nabucco (1842)
In March of 1842, Verdi premiered his opera Nabucco, based on the libretto of
Temistocle Solera, at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. It was a politically-charged time in Italy
and shrouded revolutionary ideals found their way into the composer's dramas. The theme
Tromba in D
28
of Nabucco (the humiliation of a nation and its eventual revival) closely parallels the
nationalistic sentiment of Risorgimento Italy.
To enhance the drama, Verdi employed the banda or other small groups of
instruments no less than six times. A banda difuori, or "outside" band, is used on stage
twice in the first act, and again as the curtain rises on Act Ill. This act also uses two
trumpets labeled trombe nell'interno, or "trumpets behind the scenes," which sound a short
flourish to designate the arrival of the soldiers to apprehend Nabucco.
The final two appearances of the banda in Scenes i and ii of Act IV provide unique
and interesting examples for analysis. Fenena, the daughter of the self-proclaimed god,
Nabucco, is to be put to death for what is considered a traitorous act, the embracing of
Judaism. As she is to be put to death, a funeral march can be heard in the distance at the
end of Scene ii. The Marcia funebre is played fittingly by a banda di dentro, or "band
behind the scenes," allowing for a distant sound that will gradually increase as the
procession approaches the stage for the Finale ultimo. The text provided with the march
melody in Example 17 reveals the dramatic link between the onstage dramatic action and the
offstage music.
The instrumentation for this banda, based on an arrangement used for a recording of
Nabucco, consists of two trumpets, three trombones and field drum.5 This seems to be an
appropriate interpretation based on the marking col soli stromenti di metallo senza gran
cassa (only brass instruments without bass drum). In the introduction to his edition of
Nabucco, Roger Parker explains the difficulties surrounding the specifics of Verdi's banda
and solutions for producing an authentic banda today:
There is no information concerning the make-up of the Banda used forNabucco . . . The natural variability of the Banda should be kept in mind: itsconstituent parts will be dependent on the quality and number of instrumentsavailable, the physical space they are to occupy, and the acoustic characteristics of thetheater. Modern theaters should ideally follow the older practice of producing theirown score for the Banda, adapting Verdi's outline to their particular needs. 6
29
The funeral march in Scene iii of Act IV, which is longer than what normally would be
played during a stage performance, is sometimes shortened (Example 18). In Budden's
Example 17. Verdi Nabucco, "Marcia funebre", Act IV, scene ii, march melody w/libretto,measures 66 - 84.
Banda (behind the scenes)
Action (on stage) Coro di Dentro: Fe ne na! Nabucco: Oh sul - le lab bra de'miei fi - di il no - me del - la fi - glia ri -Chorus Within: Fe ne na! Nabucco: From the lips of my faithful subjects my daughter's name
-suo -na Ec - co! El - la scor - re fra le fi - le guer - rie - re!falls See, She comes running between ranks of soldiers!
I I ."I ' Vk 1 11M MIH
Ohi - m6! tra - veg - go? Per - ch6 le man - ni dica- te-nehacin- te? .......Alas, am I dreaming? Why are her hands bound in chains? .......
J 3
Piang - ge! Coro di Dentro: Fe - ne - naa - mor - - - te.She is weeping! Chorus Within: To - death - - - with - Fenena.
opinion, however, "This is not a matter for much regret; it is a lame piece of music and all
too credibly ascribed to Verdi's Busseto years." 7
Regardless of its musical merit, the G Minor march enhances the somber mood of
the funeral procession, drawing ever nearer until making its final crescendo upon arrival in
the hanging gardens. The following description of the action on stage during the funeral
march is provided in the banda score: "The High Priest of Baal is standing by a sacrificial
altar. Fenena and other Hebrews condemned to die are brought in to the lugubrious strains
of a funeral march. Fenena kneels before Zechariah." 8
30
Example 18. Verdi Nabucco, "Marcia funebre", Act IV, scene iii, banda score,measures 1 - 32.
Trumpet
Trombone
Trombonelo
Bass Trombone
Field Drum[E_ _ _ _ _ __
3 -EN
31
-4 8
Is
ft
on!
31
-- 7 -------- 70
0 do v vw..
W-
Mi '0 10i -i -M J 6
3! 6 F
r-L
WAR w 3
3f L9 i -mv PIN w I
pi I
A
2f VLM
:V, LI, #rj
3-
.6 1 I Ila i I F-I I I 1q :j i ii i i10
-Ot-
IV 1
4P-
3F P, w 7ft
6 w -Now P dfr' 40
loT3 : 3 3 3
40 iv 40 dO -4- ;J F1
Q #4
#W 4w
'P
(PY 16
Im IR :;F*
A ln_2 31 ,3 03
32
In an effort to pinpoint which type of chromatic trumpet was intended by Verdi,
Edward Tarr offers the following:
It is hard to determine when the valved instruments were introduced in Italy becausethe expression tromba con chiavi can designate the keyed as well as the valvedinstrument. According to Berlioz, keyed trumpets were played in many Italianorchestras until the 1840's."9
While no specific instrument name is specified, Tarr later eludes to the possibility that
Nabucco (1842) and I Lombardi (1843) may still have used keyed trumpets, as Italian
orchestras responded slowly to innovative designs already in use in Europe.
Ernani (1844)
A compelling model for the study of the use of trumpets can be found in two
different ensembles in Verdi's Ernani. The drama takes place in the early sixteenth century
and, while both excerpts include the trumpet, they are contrasting in their significance to the
drama and the style of writing. The composer's technical knowledge of the capabilities of
the trumpet of his time, results in a style of trumpet writing that, historically speaking, is
somewhat atypical of the writing style of the 1500's.
The story of the opera follows the familiar theme of a woman, Elvira, being pursued
amorously in this case by no less than three different suitors. In Act III, as a result of the
conspiracy of Ernani and Silva to eliminate him, the third party, the king Don Carlo, hides
in the vault of the tomb of Charlemagne to await the arrival of his assassins. Knowing of
the conspiracy, the king instructs his servant to signal him with three canon shots if he is
elected the new Holy Roman Emperor, at which time he will have both men arrested.
When the canon shots are heard, nobles and electors begin streaming into the vault.
It is at this point in Scene iv of Act III that a group of six trumpets announce and
accompany the procession. The choice by Verdi to use trumpets for this purpose is
historically appropriate for the time in which the drama is set. Certainly, groups of
33
trumpets affiliated with the trumpet guilds of the Renaissance and Baroque performed in
this capacity regularly. Johann Ernst Altenburg provides this example:
Furthermore, war and peace are also announced at a great many courts by thesound of trumpets and kettledrums. For example, in 1768 in [St.] Petersburg, thewar against the Ottoman Gate [was so announced]. The election of the RomanEmperor, also, is always made known publicly with the sound of trumpets andkettledrums." 10
The scoring for sei Trombe interne in Do, or six offstage trumpets in C, (Example 19)
again confirms Verdi's knowledge of trumpet writing styles and the limitations of the
instrument in differing periods. The parts, as written, are stylistically uncharacteristic of
sixteenth-century trumpet music. The pitches notated and the lower range would exclude
the possibility of performance of individual lines on the "natural" trumpet in C as it existed
at that time, thereby acknowledging Verdi's awareness of the expanded melodic potential of
a chromatic trumpet. The limitations of the trumpet in earlier centuries would have required
Example 19. Verdi Ernani, Act III, scene iv, trumpet processional for sei Trombe interne,measures 14 - 21.
Allegro
2 Trombe in C
2 Trombe in C
2 Trombe in C f
34
writing in this rhythmically-repetitive and triadic style. Verdi used the style to emulate the
earlier time, while simultaneously writing for the chromatic instrument.
The fourth act of the opera begins with a ball at Ernani's castle, celebrating his
marriage to Elvira (No. 13 Festa da Ballo). A pact made between Ernani and Silva in Act
II, requiring Ernani to take his own life should Silva ask it of him, is the basis for the
banda's dramatic involvement during the first three scenes of Act IV. After a brief
introduction by the banda, the first scene begins with a lively dance tune in E-flat Major
(Example 20) as the chorus sings of the joy surrounding the wedding of Ernani.
Example 20. Verdi Ernani, Act IV, scene i "Festa da ballo", first dance tune,measures 8 - 32.
High Woodwinds 0 L - Y . L . , P r rI 6
The atmosphere changes drastically in Scene ii as a new tune in C Minor by the
banda marks the arrival of the masked figure (Example 21). Julian Budden describes the
partygoers' sudden preoccupation with the mysterious guest: ". . . among the maskers is
one in a black domino who seems to glide about like a malignant ghost. The others
comment on his appearance, and the eyes beneath the mask that seem to mirror the fires of
hell."'" The text centers around the sudden concern of the ball guests, and measures of rest
35
are provided by Verdi to allow the chorus's description of the intruder to be heard. The
masked figure threatens Emani, then leaves. The music of Scene iii marks the return of the
Scene i melody again in E-flat Major, implying a restored sense of security among the
guests.
Example 21. Verdi Ernani, Act IV, scene ii "Festa da ballo", second dance tune,measures 57 - 79.
High Woodwinds
PLM ,-1 IF 0I
In his introduction to the score of Ernani, Claudio Gallico discusses the lack of
documentation about the make-up of the banda for the first performances. However, there
is a direct reference made to Verdi's letters concerning the use of regimental bands. As for
performing forces used at the time of its premiere, Gallico suggests that:
". . . we do know that in Austria, toward the middle of the nineteenth century,there were no general regulations concerning regimental music, though new decreesrelating to the number of players and the instrumentation were made from time totime. An infantry regiment band usually included a drummer and three categories ofinstruments:
(1) woodwinds: flutes and clarinets (the latter divided into first, second, andthird);(2) brass instruments: comets, trumpets, bombardini, and flicomi;(3) drums and cymbals12
The prominent melodic line of the banda in Act IV is given to the high woodwinds,
namely piccolo and clarinet. The trumpets, of which there can be as many as four, are
36
relegated to accompaniment figures with the low brasses, rather than providing an example
consistent with the chromatic trumpet.
La battaglia di Legnano (1849)
Librettist Salvatore Cammarano filled Verdi's need for a short, passionate drama with
his discovery of Joseph Mry's patriotic French play La bataille de Toulouse (1828).
Apparently the play was well known in Italy, and it related well to the situation Italians
faced in their desire to rid themselves of the Austrians occupying their country. During the
carnival season of 1849, Verdi introduced La battaglia di Legnano in Rome at the Teatro
Argentina.
This version of the French play takes place in the twelfth century, documenting the
first defeat of a German king, in this case Frederick Barbarossa, by the Italians. The story
of La battaglia revolves around a major in the army named Rolando who has married Lida,
the former fiancee of a soldier, Arrigo, who was assumed dead as a result of the war.
Arrigo and Rolando arrive on the scene together, much to the surprise of Lida, whose
admission of her marriage to Ronaldo enrages Arrigo, with accusations of adultery. As
Rolando and Arrigo prepare for battle with the Austrians in the Finale of Act II, Verdi
introduces stereotypical military instruments into the dramatic action.
The use of trumpets and trombones in this opera was typical of the brass emphasis in
the instrumentation of the wind bands of the nineteenth century. The popularity of this type
of instrumentation, marked Istrumenti militari, is described by Budden:
A brisk march tune is heard behind the scenes played by the six stage trumpets,together with four trombones and two side drums, so forming what was known onthe French stage as "fanfares theatrales"- a most agreeable substitute for themiscellaneous wind band in vogue in Italy. 13
The five-part score, with each part apparently intended to be doubled, makes use of the
characteristic eighth-note followed by two sixteenths trumpeting rhythm throughout the
I pnwm
37
nineteen-measure march in the key of D-flat Major (Example 22). The repeat of the first
phrase of the martial tune is interrupted suddenly as the German troops approach. The
abrupt halt of this march heightens the dramatic power of King Frederico's impending
declaration of his intentions for Italy.
Example 22. Verdi La battaglia di Legnano, Act II, Finale, march tune,measures 91 - 109.
TrIuIpItdoomC
Trumpet in C r
Trumpet in C 9 1F
Trombono
Trombone I l -WJ
A
A% k t v I
hold I I got-MINIMM" MEMO
A POWER" 10000041
It ... I V, 12ol 1% 1 F I
f2 12it' I I& b
i4i. 6. 6od IF w F F FI I Fam 6mmd 1 odI I long I> >
A >An 1 rl
if I V. ks
dO dO
A >
1
64: 6. L
dw
00
} }
f 6m=m =>, , r
38
While the group of brass instruments in La battaglia is possibly the least dramatically-
powerful of those selected from the operas of Verdi, the political climate of the time created
an atmosphere in which the instrumentation was particularly relevant. In her biography of
the composer Verdi, Mary Jane Phillips-Matz supports the idea that this opera served
Italy's growing nationalistic fever.
La battaglia di Legnano was intended to inflame, and it did. The first and last wordshail the nation: Italy. Martial choruses, trumpet calls, and vows of liberty or deathabound. In a time when patriots were already coming on stage with revolutionarycockades attached to their costumes, at a time when the words of Verdi's operas - asrewritten by patriots - kept large forces of police in theatres that they sometimes hadto close down in reprisal, the high patriotic passion of the opera filled a need."
The brass ensemble in La battaglia, although not on stage, more closely represents the wind
band in function than any other of the works selected for study. This is the type of group
Italians undoubtedly heard every day in the streets of Risorgimento Italy.
Rigoletto (1851)
The work considered by many to be Verdi's finest, Rigoletto contained subject matter
originally deemed unacceptable by censors. The unsavory, promiscuous character of the
king in Victor Hugo's Le Roi s'amuse, the play on which Piave based Rigoletto, was
considered inappropriate for anyone in a position of absolute power. The remedy:
replacing the king with a far less authoritative Duke of Mantua.
Francesco Maria Piave's libretto centers on the immoral acts of the Duke, and the
deceitful plot that ultimately results in murder. Rigoletto lacks the patriotic overtones of the
so-called Risorgimento operas, lacking the military associations present in the previously
discussed Nabucco, Ernani, and La battaglia. This is not to say that the influence of the
wind band in the opera is not evident. Instead, Verdi utilizes the effect of the banda to
musically establish the licentious character of the Duke and the associated intrigues of the
Mantuan Court.
39
The Introduzione to Act I of Rigoletto unfolds in a grand ballroom at the court of the
Mantuan Duke, where a party is underway. With such spectacle on stage, one would not
imagine that the most important dramatic impression made upon the listener would originate
from off stage, in the form of banda music. The text heard together with the wind band
music, which itself seems to provide only atmosphere, reveals information about the
character of the Duke, who shares his ill intentions for a beautiful young girl with his
courtier.
Author Julian Budden refers to similarities to an earlier Verdi work:
Indeed the opening of the Introduzione can awake awkward memories ofI Lombardi. But there is a powerful difference. In the earlier opera the banda wasused merely to create an atmosphere of neutral festivity; here (in Rigoletto) it depictsthe corruption and triviality of the Duke of Mantua's Court. 15
Verdi writes five popular tunes in the banda part for the party scene in the Introduzione.
Following the overture, which contains the ominous Maledizione motive, the five dance
tunes are each heard once before repeating with dialogue throughout the scene. The
immediate impression made by the music in the Introduzione is that of festivity. This sense
of gaiety follows perhaps too closely after the impending doom of the overture to convince
listeners that suddenly all is well. While the five dance tunes contrast melodically, perhaps
of greater importance are their rhythmic differences. Budden suggests that they have:
a pleasing sense of rhythmic ambiguity about them, to tease the listener intoattention. Nos. 1 and 2 give the impression of beginning on the first beat of the bar,whereas in fact they begin on the third. No. 3 raises doubts. But it is only in themiddle of No. 4 that the doubts are resolved and the rhythmic design emergesclearly. Melody No. 5 begins unequivocally on the first beat.16
Examples 23 - 26 illustrate the rhythmic ambiguity to which Budden refers.
40
Example 23. Verdi Rigoletto, Act I, #2, "Introduzione", banda melody #1,measures 1 - 8.
A I > - >s
Trumpets ONip
11
ifi > > > > r
11 1 w 0Ap lop
Example 24. Verdi Rigoletto,measures 9 - 16.
Act I, #2, "Introduzione", banda melody #2,
Piccolo & Clarinets
mf
Example 25. Verdi Rigoletto, Act I, #2, "Introduzione", banda melody #3,measures 17 - 24.
High Winds & Trumpets
if
Example 26. Verdi Rigoletto, Act 1, #2, "Introduzione", banda melody #4,measures 25 - 41.
Picol& larnes 5k 01 "I llI ho li
alt 4l I 7 R I II ~ N l ~ l ~ r bII I j 5I 1
r) I yr
~ p ~ a -a r
W-MMUan II N WAR
> >'
U
A I , -_
Vy. " Ham ' r r.r
-dll
41
The presence of the half measure of rest in the first bar of the Introduzione causes the
listener to perceive that the banda music began on the downbeat. The rhythmic emphasis
shifts with the fifth melody, (Example 27) beginning on the downbeat, thus creating the
intended unsettled effect upon listeners.
Example 27. Verdi Rigoletto, Act I, #2, "Introduzione", banda melody #5,measures 42 - 56.
Piccolo & Trumpets 000
I I e l I I I W W -W
P
During the party, the music of the banda is entwined with dialogue that reveals the
intentions of the Duke. The banda, although behind the scene, truly enhances the dramatic
ambiance. In his book The Dramatic Genius of Verdi, Vincent Godefroy provides a similar
interpretation:
Before and behind the conversation the dance music alternately pounds and trips,introducing some four [sic] distinct tunes (none likely to have graced the Louvre ofFrangois Premier or the Gonzaga Palace). However, their rapid succession brings arestless mobility, a fluid shallowness to the scene, capturing the worthlessgallivanting of an amoral society."7
As already emphasized, the instrumentation of the banda was usually determined by
the local bandmaster, influenced by the availability of instruments at the time. A group of
instruments likely used around 1850 is provided in the introduction to the Rigoletto score.
Twenty-four players are called for, including two flutes, one piccolo, two oboes, one H-flat
42
clarinet, four B-flat clarinets, two bassoons, two B-flat trumpets, two B-flat comets, four
horns in F, three trombones, and one cimbasso or bass trombone.
It is difficult to determine whether or not the B-flat instruments designated by Verdi
were valved trumpets or keyed trumpets. In discussing Verdi's tendencies in scoring for
trumpets, Edward Tarr says that the trumpet parts in Verdi's works dating from the 1840's
might not have been for the modern valve trumpet favored by Schumann, Brahms, and
Mendelssohn.
Perhaps the chromatic trumpet parts in Giuseppe Verdi's Nabucco (1842) andI Lombardi (1843) were still played on keyed trumpets. Verdi required two trumpetparts in his early operas and added two comets in the later ones; Falstaff (1893) hadthree trumpet parts. In contrast to Berlioz, whose trumpet parts were intended fornatural trumpets, Verdi wrote similar parts for trumpets and comets, and heraldicmelodies were often reinforced by trumpets.'8
By the premiere of Rigoletto in 1851, Verdi was aware of the valved cornet, which dates
from about 1830. Whether or not he intended the trumpets in the Rigoletto score to have
valves or keys, or whether they were indeed trumpets as opposed to cornets remains
unclear.
Un ballo in maschera (1859)
Un ballo in maschera was premiered in Rome at the Teatro Apollo in 1859. In its Act
III Finale, which is set in the ballroom of the palace of Riccardo, the Earl of Eastwick,
which is a setting similar to that of the Introduzione in Rigoletto, the banda is again used.
In the original libretto by Eugene Scribe, the victim of the assassination was the Swedish
King Gustave III, who was in fact killed at a masked ball in 1792. Due to the volatile
nature of the story and its effect upon the presumed safety of royalty, the censors
demanded and received a number of changes prior to its opening. Changed from
eighteenth-century Sweden to Boston, Massachusetts in the late seventeenth century, the
43
story revolves around the Earl Riccardo's infatuation with Renato's wife, Amelia, and the
ominous premonitions of a sorceress's warning of his imminent demise.
The point of real dramatic interest involving the banda lies in the final two scenes of
Act Ill, as the setting changes from Riccardo's study to the ballroom in the midst of a
party. The first of three dance tunes is heard in the background. During the distant strains
of banda music from the ballroom, Riccardo's words indicate his preoccupation with once
again being reunited with Amelia (Example 28). The tune in A-flat Major briefly shifts to
A-flat Minor while he reads a letter of warning that his subject Oscar has just delivered
(Example 29). However, the fear of the implication of cowardice prompts the Earl to
attend the party, and the tune returns in the major mode, (Example 30) connected to an
elaborate transition to the ballroom.
Example 28. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act III, scene ii, banda tune - major,measures 79 - 94.
Banda (behind the scenes)
Clarinets & Trumpets
Riccardo: Ah! dessa 6 IA ...Action (on stage) Riccardo: Oh! she is there
potrei ve -derla... an co -run - par - ar- le po trei...now I can see her. Ill tell her of the plans I have made.
Ma ano: chb tat-to or mi strap- pa da lei.But no: its bet-ter t o see her no more.
I Pmw -Rilmom! W;
44
Example 29. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act Ill, scene ii, banda tune - minor,measures 80 - 100.
Oscar: Igno - ta donna questo fo - glio diemmi. 8 pel Con - te, dissel -la; a ui lo reca e di ce - la - to.Oscar: An unknown wo-man handed me this pa-per. And she told me to hurry; and to be sure that no-one follow
Riccardo: Che nel ballo alcuno alla mia vita at - t ente - r, sta det - to Ma se m'ar - re-sto chio pa -ven - todi - ran.Riccardo: Some -one warns that there is a planned assassin-a-tion this evening. But if I don't go they will say I'm afraid.
Example 30. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act III, scene ii, return of banda tune - major,measures 101 - 117.
#J T I
Riccardo: Nol vo: nes -su - - no pur sospet - tar -lo de'.Riccardo: No choice: no - one must believe that I'm afraid.
Riccardo: Tu va: tap - pra - sta, e rat -to per gio -ir me -coal - la fe - - sta.Riccardo: You go: get read - y. go quickly. We shall have fun at the part - - y.
As the scene changes from library to ballroom, the chorus sings of love and of
dancing, while accompanied by the same banda tune, but this time in B-flat (Example 31).
A gradual tonal shift, effected by an extended modulation from A-flat major to B-flat major,
assists the transition of the action of the scene from background to foreground. With each
re-hearing, this tune is now linked to the happier subject of love and passion. Two
additional tunes by the banda in this scene provide appropriate atmosphere for the
additional on-stage situations. Godefroy discusses the nervous tension created by Verdi
during the third scene: "The drama is pieced together with precision. There are dance
45
movements played by the band, bursts of chorus expressing revelry yet cunningly placed
between episodes, a sense of groping towards a delayed but inevitable end." 9
Example 31. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act III, Finale, first dance tune,measures 151 - 166.
PkK.
I " .
The sinister plotting of Renato, Sam and Tom is accompanied by a lighter and
somewhat slower dance movement (Example 32) in the relative minor of G, while the
inquisition of Oscar by Renato as to the Earl's whereabouts is heard with the third and final
melody (Example 33), moving from E-flat major to the parallel minor and back before the
return of the first tune and chorus.
Example 32. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act III, Finale, second dance tune,measures 183 - 198.
fr#4 fr A t l
nA -
f I I
frI*~ frNt4
®r,~
46
Example 33. Verdi Un ballo in maschera, Act III, Finale, third dance tune,measures 231 - 246.
I FII II
The banda eventually gives way to a stage orchestra which provides a repeated melody
heard during the murder of the earl. Although this stage ensemble includes no brass
instruments, its significance to this topic is in its similar use by others, first by Mozart in
Don Giovanni, and then by Rossini in his La donna del lago, discussed in Chapter Two.
Special mention is made of the Finale of Un ballo in maschera in Linda Tyler's article
Striking Up the Banda: Verdi's Use of the Stage Band in his Middle-Period Operas:
. . . Verdi exploited stage music for both structural clarity and dramatic irony. Thebanda tunes connect Riccardo's opening solo with the ensuing party, they help buildcontinuity among the different conversations going on at the ball, and the stageorchestra's mazurka tightly frames the duet of Amelia and Riccardo. Juxtaposition ofthe dance tunes with the high melodrama of the plot also allowed Verdi to giveconsummate expression to the concept of dramatic irony. 20
As is typical, the instruments of the banda are not specified in the score. The
instrumentation employed in modem recordings reveals the use of low and high brass with
woodwind instruments, typical of other Verdi bandas. Robert M. Longyear, in reference
to the abundance of chromatic melodies in Verdi's banda scores, including that of Un ballo
in maschera, says:
47
. . . we can infer that triadic melodies were played by the brass and stepwisemelodies by the woodwinds, but with the advent of keyed trumpets this distinctionbecame blurred, and triadic melodies also form a main constituent of the "patriotic"music that was widespread, under the influence of the French Revolutionary music,throughout Europe."
The author also suggests that "Verdi preferred the large-bore, rotary-valved Italian
trumpets."2 However, ". . . during the second half of the nineteenth century, the
saxhorn, under the name offlicorni, came to dominate the Italian band's brass sections." 23
Whether the instrument was this mellow-sounding valved instrument invented by Adolphe
Sax, or the more brilliant trumpet, Verdi and those arranging his banda scores were no
longer limited in their options in writing for the trumpet.
Aida (1871)
August Mariette's libretto for Verdi's opera Aida depicts the love between the young
Egyptian general, Radames, and an Ethiopian slave, Aida, against a backdrop of the
military conflict between their respective countries. Premiered in Cairo, Egypt in 1871, the
four-act opera is commonly remembered for the spectacle of its Act II Finale in which the
Egyptian soldiers return triumphantly through the city gates of Thebes and into the temple
of Ammon.
Verdi adds to the visual grandeur, provided by the sheer numbers processing onto
the stage, by using two different combinations of instruments, a banda and the six Egyptian
trumpets. Longyear emphasizes the relevance of the work to this topic:
Aida (1871) represents Verdi's culmination of his use of the banda sul palco. In thesecond act the use of the offstage band to accompany the returning soldiers isconventional, however, the second act finale contains an extensive use of the bandfor visual and even structural purposes, for the main theme of the rondo form isemphasized by the use of the band with the chorus and, in variations, with orchestralpunctuations.
The banda plays a march tune as the "populace" sings "Gloria all' Egitto" (Example 34).
48
Example 34. Verdi Aida, ActI, Finale, "Gloria all'Egitto", banda "hymn" melody,measures 25 - 34.
Trumpet 1 in C**
Trumpet 2 in C I*fE EE I
A ff >Horn I in F 9*0
ff
Trn 2 - *
ff
Trombone 3I*I*
Tuba X I1z Ar
[Z3
o>r>m
6 1 OR 14 Jil
0; w rop">P>
im IF Inj '
I r
A3w I / -1
ifI
\11---, >- > >
49
According to Budden, the march tune was considered hymn-like by some, and it was their
hope that it would become the Egyptian national anthem. Based on its brevity, however, it
was not appropriate for that purpose.
The increasing intensity of the music in the processional combines the forces of
banda, orchestra, and chorus:
This so-called hymn . . . is accompanied by the stage band with the orchestrasupplying those fortissimo punctuations on the empty off-beats which make many asensitive spirit wince. Yet as Italian banda music it is good of its type."
The banda part is played by trumpets, horns, trombones and tuba, although there seems to
be some question as to whether musicians actually perform on stage as specified, since a
problem with historical authenticity is raised from a visual standpoint (i.e., horns,
trombones and tubas did not exist). A more likely solution, in which the author of this
study has participated, would simply have the music performed offstage by the banda.
After the banda's first entrance, it yields briefly to the orchestra before leading
directly into what is easily the most familiar tune in the opera. As the procession winds
toward its conclusion, columns of troops begin streaming past the king to the sounds of the
trumpets, positioned prominently in groups of three near the throne. The first three
trumpets begin the twenty-two-bar march in the key of A-flat (Example 35), after which an
abrupt modulation repeats the melody in B Major for the opposing group of three players.
The accompaniment for each group is different, but to one author the motivation is
unclear.
It is interesting to note that in the triumphal march the Egyptian trumpets in Ab areaccompanied by the band, but those in B natural are accompanied by the strings andhorns in the orchestra. Did Verdi mistrust the abilities of the banda to play in morethan two written flats? 26
50
Example 35. Verdi Aida, Act II, Finale, "Triumphal March", A-flat trumpet melody,measures 90 - 112.
Trumpet in A flat 0J0i 0
3
A itic posblt hoeer a betecmoe'/nacmnt fteidvdaiyo
1M Q If
3 3A f"" . ./. '
wf 0 R 4 I
Lin ffrI I ..i:_i I II I'I JI I
3
I I I -I r- IF I
A distinct possibility however, may be the composer's enhancement of the individuality of
the two groups through different accompaniments. After twelve bars of the melody is
heard from the trumpets in B-natural, the groups are joined together (Example 36).
Example 36. Verdi Aida, Act HI, Finale, "Triumphal March", A-flat & B-natural trumpets,measures 124 - 134.
Trumpet in B
3 3
3 3 3 3 3 33 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
51
The difficulty in combining trumpets of two different keys is remedied by allowing the B
trumpets only one pitch against the A-flat melody:
Hard words have been said about the long trumpet by those who have never tried towrite a tune for the open notes of such an instrument or have failed to realize that theresulting brilliance is due to Verdi's success in this respect. The electric shock of thechange from the A-flat to the B-natural trumpets is familiar to all who have heard theopera, but the ingenuity, first pointed out to me by Malcom Sargent, of treating theD-sharp harmonic of the latter as E-flat and thus effecting a combination of the two atthe climax, has never, I think, been emphasized."2
The simultaneous presence of the banda and Egyptian trumpets provides a
memorable element of the Act II Finale. Their function is less clearly-defined than in
previous operas due to its being overshadowed by the prominent visual and musical
contributions of the six on-stage Egyptian trumpets. Longyear concludes that
"In the course of Verdi's musical development the tendency is apparent of his relying less
and less on the banda sul palco as an independent unit and his increasingly integrating it
into the musical and dramatic fabric of his opera." 28
52
Endnotes
1Francis Toye, Giuseppe Verdi: His Life and Works (New York: Alfred A. Knopf,1972), 8.
2 John Rosselli, Music & Musicians in Nineteenth-Century Italy (Portland: AmadeusPress, 1991), 49.
' Donald Jay Grout, A History of Western Music (New York: W.W. Norton & Co.,1960), 604.
4 j am exceedingly grateful to John Grande, Librarian, Metropolitan Opera, for sending mebanda parts for Rigoletto, Un ballo in maschera and Aida.
5 Giuseppe Verdi, Nabucco., performed by the Chor & Orchester der Deutschen OperBerlin, Conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli, (DG 410 512 - 2, 1983).
6 Roger Parker, introduction to Nabucodonosor (Chicago: University of ChicagoPress, 1983), xi.
7 Julian Budden, The Operas of Verdi (London: Clarendon Press, 1992), 109.
8 Giuseppe Verdi, Nabucodonosor ed. Roger Parker (Chicago: University of ChicagoPress, 1987), 452.
9 Edward Tarr, The Trumpet (Portland: Amadeus Press, 1988), 165.
'0 Johann Ernst Altenburg, Trumpeter's and Kettledrummer's Art Eng. trans. by EdwardTarr, (Nashville: The Brass Press, 1974), 29.
" Budden, op. cit., 165.
12 Claudio Gallico, introduction to Ernani (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983)xxix.
1 Budden, op. cit., 405.
14 Mary Jane Phillips-Matz, Verdi: A Biography (New York: Oxford University Press,1993), 239-40.
1 Budden, op. cit., 487.
16 Ibid.
17 Vincent Godefroy, The Dramatic Genius of Verdi: Studies of Selected Operas II(London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1977), 198-99. N.B. Godefroy refers to four tuneswhen in fact there are five.
53
18 Tarr, op. cit., 166.
19 Godefroy, op. cit., 84-85.
20Linda Tyler, "Striking Up the Banda: Verdi's Use of the Stage Band in his MiddlePeriod Operas," The Opera Journal, Vol. XX, No. 1 (1990), 22.
21 R.M. Longyear, "The "Banda Sul Palco:" Wind Bands in Nineteenth-Century Opera,"Journal of Band Research, Vol.2, No.13 (Spring 1978), 37.
22 Ibid., 38.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid., 34.
25 Budden, op. cit., 223.
26 Longyear, op. cit., 34.
27 Toye, op. cit., 356-7.
28 Longyear, op. cit., 34.
CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION
The popularity of the miscellaneous wind bands in Italian society through the
centuries and the prominent use of the trumpet within these ensembles and as a solo
instrument, become evident in the examination of the development of the banda sulpalco
(the band on stage) in Italian opera. The presence of musicians on stage for dramatic
purpose is not exclusive to nineteenth-century opera. (Mozart used an earlier form of the
banda in his Don Giovanni (1787), although it was not made up of wind instruments.) The
political atmosphere of the Risorgimento in in Italy in the nineteenth century, however,
made the military wind band, with its uplifting patriotic sound, very attractive to composers
of that century in their attempt to reach their audiences on an emotional level.
Gioachino Rossini's contributions of banda material break new ground through the
use of small ensembles of wind instruments both in the pit and on stage. The inclusion of
the trumpet for harmonic reinforcement, rather than as a melodic instrument, is very evident
in the bande examined. The high woodwinds, (i.e. piccolo and clarinets) dominate the
melody lines, and continue to be prominent in that role, even as the trumpet's melodic
abilities improve. Attempts by Rossini to create melodic material for the chromatically-
limited trumpet is evident with the use of many different natural trumpets (as many as seven
in La donna del lago (1819) to achieve all the desired pitches. While the valved trumpet
was being developed at approximately the same time in Europe, it is evident that Rossini
did not yet have the instrument available to him.
Did Rossini write for a chromatic instrument later in the nineteenth century?
Undoubtedly. The works selected for this study, however, are those which influence the
later works of Giuseppe Verdi, the main focus of this topic. These works of Rossini
54
55
provide information on the early banda's development, including innovative
instrumentation within the orchestra, multiple groupings of instrumental ensembles on
stage, and dramatic situations involving the banda for musical and visual effect. These
contributions by Rossini illustrate the significant assimilation of the wind band onto the
nineteenth-century opera stage as part of the drama.
The advancements that took place in the design and construction of the trumpet in the
first half of the nineteenth century did not immediately effect Verdi's writing for the
instrument in his operas. An accurate assessment of what kind of trumpet Verdi intended
to use in the banda is difficult to determine, based on the fact that the composer rarely
provided more than a reduced two-stave version of the band, without specifying
instrumentation. Further uncertainty stems from the fact that his Adagio for Trumpet and
Orchestra (1836-39), dated earlier than his operatic scores, clearly is written for an
instrument capable of playing outside the harmonic series. A possible explanation may lie
in the softer tone quality of the keyed trumpet used for the Adagio, a timbre that Verdi
might have felt lacked the presence needed for opera. He undoubtedly had a chromatic
instrument with valves available to him at some point, but when, and to what extent, are
difficult to ascertain.
The trumpet often had a military connotation in Verdi opera, and appearances by
some type of military band are found in three of the six works studied. Popular melodies
of the day were played by bandas to accompany specific characters and to define situations
on stage, such as the party scenes of Un ballo in maschera and Rigoletto, while the Marcia
funebre in Nabucco provides an example of typically ceremonial music. Verdi knew the
history of the trumpet and the style in which it had been used for centuries. Nevertheless,
he endeavored to use the instrument in a style appropriate to its dramatic purpose, rather
than strictly adhering to the historical style of the time period in which his opera was set.
56
The best example of this practice is Aida (1871), in which Verdi wrote a melody to be
played on-stage with a straight natural trumpet, the only trumpet used in ancient Egypt.
While the study of selected instances involving the banda illustrates Verdi's genius in
creating dramatic power, also notable are the increasing opportunities afforded trumpets as
the design of the instrument improved. The trumpet has always been associated with
situations dealing with ceremony and pageantry. In the patriotic setting of nineteenth-
century Italy, the inclusion of the trumpet in Italian society's popular wind bands provides
Verdi, within the context of his operas, a compositional device of special dramatic and
musical meaning to his audiences.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Bendinelli, Cesare. Tutta l'arte della Trombetta 1614. Facsimile edition Kassel:Barenreiter-Verlag, 1970. Eng. trans. Edward Tarr. The Entire Art of TrumpetPlaying 1614, with critical commentary. Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975.
Fantini, Girolamo. Method for Learning to Play the Trumpet in a Warlike Way as Well asMusically, with the Organ, with a Mute, with a Harpsichord, and Every OtherInstrument, (Frankfurt: Daniel Watsch, 1638). Eng. trans. by Edward Tan,Nashville: The Brass Press, 1975.
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Paisiello, Giovanni. Pirro. Partial Autograph Manuscript at Conservatorio San Pietro aMajella in Naples (from Microfilm Copy, U.C. Berkeley).
Rossini, Gioachino. La donna del lago. Edizione Critica delle Opere di GioachinoRossini, ed. Colin Slim, Pesaro: Fondazione Rossini, 1990.
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. Otello ossia I moro Venezia. Edizione Critica delle Opere di GioachinoRossini, ed. Michael Collins, Pesaro: Fondazione Rossini, 1994.
. Ricciardo e Zoraide. Facsimile ed. of Rossini's Original AutographManuscript, ed. Philip Gossett, New York: Garland Publishing, 1980.
Verdi, Giuseppe. Adagio for Trumpet and Orchestra. Edward H. Tarr, ed. Coburg:Musikverlag David McNaughtan, 1996.
. Aida. New York: Dover Publications, 1989.
60
. Ernani. The Works of Giuseppe Verdi, Series I - Operas, Volume 5. ed.Claudio Gallico, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983.
. Ernani. Full score in Manuscript, The British Library ManuscriptsCollection, London.
. La battaglia di legnano. New York: Edwin F. Kalmus Publishers.
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. Rigoletto. The Works of Giuseppe Verdi, Series I - Operas,Volume 17. ed. Martin Chusid, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983.
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Recordings
Verdi, Giuseppe. Adagio for Trumpet and Orchestra., performed Edward H. Tarr, trumpetand the Orchestra of Bad Sackingen, Conducted by Josef Polyak, (StidkurierMusikbox, 1997).
. Aida., performed by the Chorus of the Royal Opera House, CoventGarden, the New Philharmonia Orchestra, Conducted by Riccardo Muti, (EMI47271, 1974).
. Ernani., performed by the Coro e Orchestra del Teatro all Scala, Conducted byRiccardo Muti, (EMI 47082, 1982).
,. La battaglia di legnano., performed by the Chorus and Orchestra of Romadella Radio - Televisione Italiana, Conducted by Fernando Previtali, (Everest 431,1967).
. Nabucco., performed by the Chor & Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin,Conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli, (DG 410 512 -2, 1983).
. Rigoletto., performed by the Coro e Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale diSanta Cecelia, Conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli, (Philips 412 592 - 2, 1984).
. Un ballo en maschera., performed by the Coro e Orchestra del Teatro allaScala di Milano, Conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni, (Arkadia CDHP 519.2,1957).