The modification of the instrument timbre through a chiseled compositional writing is certainly one of the elements characterizing Le chant del Nane Periòt for alto flute. It is a composition inspired by a beautiful popular song from Aosta Valley: Le maitinade del Nane Periòt, a piece admirably elaborated for male choir also by the great pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995). In this work for alto flute, like in others by Venturi, the red thread is represented by the attempt to turn the instrument into another, sometimes an imaginary instrument and sometimes a distant instrument according to its tonal characteristics, such as a percussion ensemble, a brass, etc.
The use of specifically created mutes of various materials such as tin foil, paper, felt, etc., is designed to create a complete modification on the tone and heights on the sound of the instrument. Thus, with particular interventions on the instrument such as lengthening, mute corks, etc., the instrument itself crosses its normal extension and sometimes becoming a pan flute, an alphorn, or a bell. A very varied and precise musical writing forces the performer to study the score.
To make this piece at its best, the interpreter is expected to have a great performance flexibility and a remarkable interpretative sensitivity, essential elements for the full success of the piece itself.
Even in this composition, like in many of his scores, Venturi uses a personal compositional technique based on chiaroscuro, a particular effect tending to highlight shapes and relief through variations of light and dark. This technique has remarkably close links with other arts such as painting, sculpture, engraving, poetry, etc. The compositional system of this composition is grounded on a scale of 36 pitches, in which 24 untied pitches are added to the chromatic total of 12 semitones.
In this piece, the composer uses the concept of polarization, that is the planning of the musical tension arches of the score itself based on specific heights or polarities.
In addition to creating particular dialectical balances between tensions and musical extensions, it also contributes to creating a continuity of listening, especially from a psychoacoustic point of view.