Gabrieli: Canzon per Sonar Ch. 178 for Brass Choir à 10
by Giovanni Gabrieli
Brass Ensemble - Digital Sheet Music

Brass Ensemble Bass Trombone,Cornet,Horn - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1228233

Composed by Giovanni Gabrieli. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Chamber,Contest,Early Music,Festival,Historic,Renaissance. 54 pages. Jmsgu3 #824153. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.1228233).

Minimum instrumentation: 4 Cornets in Bb, 4 French Horns in F, 1 Tenor Trombone, 1 Bass Trombone.

Innovations

Gabrieli preferred sacred vocal and, indeed, instrumental music. Hence, he concentrated on music that consequently took advantage of resonance and reverberation for maximum effect. Gabrieli may have invented dynamics – or was instead the first to indicate them, such as in his Sonata Pian' e Forte. Consequently, he was also a pioneer in spatial techniques. He, therefore, developed and used particular notation to indicate instrumentation. Gabrieli experimented with assembling massive instrumental forces into isolated groups separated by space. In this way, he consequently contributed heavily to the Baroque Concertato style.

Polychoral Works

Gabrieli probably used the layout of the San Marco church for his experiments. This is because he worked there as a musician and composer. Furthermore, the church had two choir lofts facing each other. He indeed used these to create striking spatial effects between instrumental forces. Indeed, many of his works are composed such that a choir or instrumental group could first be heard on one side, followed by a group response. Sometimes, there was probably a third group near the main altar.

Spatial Music

Above all, Gabrieli studied carefully detailed groups of instruments and singers. Furthermore, it seems like he created precise directions for instrumentation rather than two groups. Because they could be appropriately situated, the instruments could consequently be heard with perfect clearness at distant locations. As a result, arrangements that seem bizarre on paper can sound perfectly in balance in contrast.

First Works

Finally, Gabrieli published his first motets and his uncle Andrea's compositions in Concerti (1587). These compositions furthermore indicate considerable usage of dialogue and echo effects. Consequently, here we see low and high choirs with the variance between their ranges shown by instrumental accompaniment. Gabrieli's later motets Sacrae Symphoniae (1597) seem to move away from close antiphony. In contrast, he moves towards not simply echoing the material but developing it through sequential choral entrances. Even more, he takes this procedure to the extreme in the Motet Omnes Gentes. Unlike earlier works, here, the instruments are an essential part of the presentation—also, only parts marked Capella are supposed to be sung.

Homophony

Hence, after 1605, Gabrieli moved to a much more homophonic style. He writes sections purely for instruments – called "Sinfonia" – and smaller units for vocal soloists, accompanied by a basso continuo.