Canzona per Sonare No. 1

Canzona per Sonare No. 1, “La Spiritata”

Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554/57? – 1612)

Saxophone Quartet SATB, AATB or AAAB

Canzona per Sonare No. 1 by Giovanni Gabrieli, arranged for saxophone quartet (flexible scoring). Taken from an anthology published in 1608, Canzona per Sonare No. 1, is an instrumental piece modeled on the French vocal form known as the chanson (“canzona” in Italian). “La Spiritata,” provides a good example of the genre’s dancing rhythms, chordal texture and sectional structure. The changing meters and moods make this piece a challenge to perform successfully.

While it is frequently performed by brass ensembles and organists, it transfers well to the saxophone quartet format. For flexibility, alternate parts for Alto 1/Soprano and Alto 3/Tenor are included to allow performing the quartet SATB, AATB, or AAAB.

• The range for each saxophone part is shown below.
• Audio and score excerpts are available above.
• Registered users can download a complete sample score and full length audio file of Canzona per Sonare No. 1 on the ‘Samples’ tab.

About the Composer

Giovanni Gabrieli  (c.1554 to 1557 – August 12, 1612) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance-early Baroque era. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the Venetian School of composition, at the time of the shift from Renaissance to Baroque forms and styles.