Dies Irae & The Witches’ Sabbath byAnonymous and Hector Berlioz
arranged by Neal Corwell

Instrumentation: solo euphonium, bass trombone, tuba, ophicleide, bassoon, or cello with piano accompaniment (bass clef and B-flat treble solo parts are provided)
Copyright: 2019
Duration: Total Time: 4:25
Range: C to g-1 (with optional octave changes range reduced to E to g-1)
for tuba: C to e-1 (with optional octave changes range reduced to C to c-1)
Difficulty: II-III
Publisher: Nicolai Music
Price: $15
Other Info: Dr. Corwell premiered on ophiclide, with his wife Kathryn as accompanist, on April 28, 2019.

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The Dies Irae is a well-known Gregorian Chant, part of the large body of medieval ritual melody of the Western Christian Church. The Dies Irae is traditionally used in a mass for the dead. A partial text is as follows: “The day of wrath, that awful day, shall reduce the world to ashes…How great will be the terror, when the judge shall come to examine all things rigorously.”

This chant has been used in many orchestral works, and one of the most famous settings is by Berlioz in the final movement of his Symphonie Fantastique, titled “The Witches’ Sabbath”. In the original orchestration, Berlioz uses a pair of ophicleides to state the famous melody. Although a tuba is now used in place of the ophicleide, the arranger, Neal Corwell, owns and plays an ophicleide, one of these “obsolete” members of the brass family, and this arrangement was designed to showcase this 19th century instrument. Although designed with ophicleide in mind, the arrangement also is perfectly suited to modern brass instruments such as euphonium, trombone, and tuba.

This arrangement begins with a presentation of the traditional ritual melody, along with a decidedly modern piano accompaniment, created by the arranger, which compliments the austerity of the chant. In bar 27 the chosen excerpt from Berlioz’s famous orchestral work begins with a 2-note “chime” statement, imitating the actual chimes used in the orchestral version. These chimes are used to announce to the grotesques in Hell that it is time to assemble for a requiem mass. After the Witches’ Sabbath portion of the arrangement has risen to a climax, a transition is made to a return to the opening texture. Then, after a brief re-statement of the Dies Irae, the piece comes to a quiet contemplative conclusion.