Giuseppe Verdi - Ave Maria (from Quattro pezzi sacri), arranged for clarinet quartet (or choir) by Andrew Seigel. Giuseppe Verdi's “Ave Maria” was written in 1898 in response to a harmonic puzzle suggested by Adolfo Crescentini in the “Gazzetta Musicale di Milano.” Verdi initially forbade public performances of the work, considering the work to be simply a solution to a kind of musical riddle rather than a work of art. Arrigo Boito obtained Verdi's permission to publish the Ave Maria with three other works, resulting in the publication of "Quattro pezzi sacri."

Instrumentation:

• Clarinet 1
• Clarinet 2
• Clarinet 3 (Alto Clarinet/Basset Horn)
• Bass Clarinet (Contralto/Contrabass Clarinet)