Ultima Verba: Sheet Music for Solo Viola by Corentin Apparailly

Ultima Verba for Solo Viola: A Score on Farewell to the Instrument

The symbiosis between a musician and their instrument is profound and mysterious. Over the years, the instrument becomes the discreet witness of pivotal moments: it accompanies initial concerts, private hesitations, solitary practice hours, early triumphs, and the heightened emotions of chamber music dialogue. Musicians often entrust their instruments with feelings they would share with no one else. What then should one say when the time comes to bid farewell?

It is from this question that Ultima Verba was born, a new work for solo viola by Corentin Apparailly, published by Scripta Manent.

I. A Title Between Speech and Legend

In Latin, Ultima Verba refers to the last words uttered by a historic figure before departing—be it a writer, artist, or statesman. Goethe is famously said to have whispered 'Mehr Licht!' ('More light!') at the end of his life; Rabelais reportedly declared with characteristic wit, 'Draw the curtain, the farce is played.' These formulas endure because they crystallize the encounter between a distinct voice and final silence.

It is this tension—between speech drawing to a close and music that continues to resonate—that Corentin Apparailly chose to embody in this piece, imagining a musician's farewell to their instrument as a musical Ultima Verba.

“Mehr Licht!” (“More light!”)

— Goethe

“Draw the curtain, the farce is played.”

— Rabelais

“Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est” (“Applaud, my friends, the comedy is finished”)

— Beethoven

II. Performers and Their Instruments: Personal Confidences

“My baby, my violin” is how Angèle Dubeau refers to her 1733 Stradivarius, known as 'Arthur dit Desrosiers.' For violist Sào Soulez-Larivière, recipient of the 2023 Young Artist Award at the International Classical Music Awards, the relationship with his viola—crafted by luthier Frédéric Chaudière in 2013—is more an encounter than a choice: 'We searched for each other and found each other, so to speak.'

This bond can upend a musician's world if anything befalls the instrument. In 1999, cellist Yo-Yo Ma accidentally left his 1712 'Davidov' Stradivarius—the very instrument played by Jacqueline du Pré—in the trunk of a New York taxi. The hours of intense anguish before the cello was recovered demonstrated how vulnerable a musician feels without their lifelong companion.

Gautier Capuçon has played for over twenty years on a 1701 cello by Venetian luthier Matteo Goffriller, on loan from a Swiss collector, calling it 'an extension of myself, of my arms and legs.' Under such circumstances, imagining the last piece one would ever play with such an instrument is a question few musicians would ever wish to contemplate.

CORENTIN APPARAILLY

COMPOSER'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

« “For my first published piece, Ultima Verba, I wanted to explore this unique bond by imagining a musician’s emotional farewell to their instrument, taking this opportunity to bid my own symbolic farewell to my viola and embark fully on this new chapter as a composer.” »

III. Corentin Apparailly and the Viola: A Lifelong Bond

Corentin Apparailly's connection to the viola began long before he could hold one in his hands. His mother, a viola professor at the conservatory, and his father, a violist with the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, made music an omnipresent part of his childhood. In his earliest days in an incubator, his mother placed a small player beside him softly broadcasting Stamitz's Viola Concerto—the only sound capable of soothing him.

For over a decade, he has performed on a custom viola crafted by Stephan von Baehr, a faithful companion that accompanied him to prestigious concert stages across the globe, including his years with the Quatuor Arod.

It is on this instrument that Ultima Verba was conceived and composed, distilling into sound the intimate dialogue between performer and instrument.