Review

Richard Wagner
Immolation Scene: from Götterdämmerung

Arranged by Randall Malmstrom

3 C trumpets, 4 horns in F, 2 tenor trombones (in tenor clef), bass trombone, contrabass trombone, tuba, timpani

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2024
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

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

Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen is one of the crowning achievements of human artistry. The cycle concludes with the famous Immolation Scene at the end of Götterdämmerung. Brünnhilde rides into Siegfried’s flaming funeral pyre in an act of self-sacrifice, releasing the curse of the Ring. At this dramatic climax, Wagner recalls leitmotifs that have played significant roles throughout the entire cycle.

Randall Malmstrom has arranged the final moments of this scene for 12-part brass choir and timpani (3 C trumpets, 4 horns, 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone, contrabass trombone, and tuba). The soprano’s role has concluded, and the orchestra carries the drama forward in music that functions much like the end credits of a film score. The arrangement is highly demanding and is intended for advanced brass players.

The trumpet parts are neither exceptionally high, rising only to written a3, nor excessively technical. The horn parts present the greatest technical challenges. They carry the River Rhine leitmotif and feature interlocking triplet and sixteenth-note passages. The tenor trombone parts, written in tenor clef, include excerpts of the Valkyrie and Valhalla themes. In the absence of a contrabass trombone, that part may be performed on a double-valve bass trombone.

Malmstrom’s arrangement is both ambitious and successful. Mature players will find it challenging, rewarding, and musically satisfying. Although there are moments of considerable technical difficulty, the primary challenge lies in maintaining continuity of sound and line in order to do justice to some of the greatest music ever written.