Universal Judgment

From Wind Repertory Project
Camille De Nardis

Camille De Nardis (arr. Antonio Cafarella)


Subtitle: Symphonic Poem


General Info

Year: 1878 / 1934
Duration: c. 9:50
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Carl Fischer
Cost: Score and Parts - Out of print.

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo and Flute III
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Solo Clarinet or I
B-flat Soprano Clarinet II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
Solo Cornet or I
B-flat Cornet II-III
Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium I-II
Tuba
String Bass
Harp
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Cymbals
  • Gong
  • Snare Drum


Errata

In parts:

  • Euphonium I (Treble Clef), rehearsal no. 28, m.5: The first note should be D-natural, not C-natural. Bass clef part is correct.


Program Notes

De Nardis wrote Il Giudizio Universale (The Universal Judgment) in 1878. It won first prize in an Italian national band contest that year, making it one of the earliest original symphonic works for band. The composition is based on the religious concept of a journey of purification consisting of hardships with glimpses of hope and joy for those who are awaiting the universal judgment before receiving final blessedness.

- Program Note from Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music


This composition won first prize in a national band contest at Naples in 1878, making it one of the early works for that medium. With its dramatic 19th-century Italian opera style, its many fugal sections, and its abrupt changes of dynamics, this symphonic poem reminds the listener of both Verdi and Beethoven. Delicate woodwind chorales and soaring romantic melodies are interspersed. A moderato section in the middle features spatially separated trumpets representing the choirs of angels. A spirited allegro brings the work to a close.

- Program Note by Mary Arthur from Program Notes for Band and Band Music Notes


Like many composers and bandmasters of the 19th Century, Camillo de Nardis is largely forgotten nowadays, but in his lifetime he achieved considerable professional success. The Universal Judgment is the work of a young de Nardis who was only 21 years old when he completed this symphonic poem which was awarded a first prize in a national band contest in Naples. The composition is an epitome of Italian Romanticism; The Universal Judgment — an original symphonic poem for military band — embodies the Romantic focus upon emotion and one's self. This highly affective depiction of the end times and God's final judgment upon all of humanity (think of today's notion of The Rapture) wreaks [sic] of Italian opera verismo style. A published review of de Nardis' opera, Stella, is an equally befitting description of The Universal Judgment: "It shows a certain kinship with Cavalleria Rusticana, due to the power of the dramatic mechanism and the complexity of the characters, [and has] a triumphal welcome."

- Program Note by Lawrence Stoffel for the California State University Northridge Wind Ensemble concert program, 17 March 2022


Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • New York (Bayside) Wind Orchestra (Richard F. Regan, conductor) - 9 December 2023
  • University of Kansas (Lawrence) Symphonic Band (Matthew O. Smith, conductor) – 6 December 2022
  • California State University Northridge Wind Ensemble (Lawrence F. Stoffel, conductor) – 17 March 2022 (CBDNA 2022 Western/Northwestern Conference, Tacoma, Wash.)
  • Encore Concert Band (Mokena, Ill.) (Bill Schuetter, conductor) – 1 March 2020
  • Trine University (Angola, Ind.) Wind Ensemble (Mark Kays, conductor)– 28 April 2019
  • Gold Coast Wind Ensemble (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) (Michael Doty, conductor) – 7 April 2019
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison Concert Band (Mike Leckrone, conductor) – 17 February 2019
  • Northwest Missouri State University Wind Symphony (John Bell, conductor) – 18 October 2018
  • Slippery Rock (Penn.) University Wind Ensemble(Jonathan Helmick, conductor) - 29 April 2018
  • University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Wind Symphony (John R. Stewart, conductor) - 29 April 2016
  • Atwater (Calif.) High School Symphonic Band (Norm Caulkins, conductor) - 11 March 2016 (2016 Sutherland Wind Festival (Fresno, Calif.)
  • Parkland College (Champaign, Ill.) Concert Band (Larry Stoner, conductor) - 2 March 2016
  • Virginia Grand Military Band (Loras John Schissel, conductor) - 23 May 2015
  • Lawrence University Symphonic Band - 23 February 2014
  • Lynn Conservatory of Music (Boca Raton, Fla.) Wind Ensemble (Kenneth Amis, conductor) – 15 September 2012
  • U.S. Naval Academy Concert Band (David J. Latour, conductor) - 20 July 2010


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • De Nardis, C.; Cafarella, A. (1934). The Universal Judgment: Symphonic Poem [score]. Carl Fischer: New York
  • Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Universal Judgment." Accessed 11 July 2014.
  • Smith, Norman and Albert Stoutamire (1979). Band Music Notes. Rev. ed. San Diego: Kjos West, pp. 60-61
  • Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 171