Trombone Essentials: A Review
Trombone Essentials, 11 Recital and Contest Solos for Tenor and Bass Trombone. Arranged and Edited by Douglas Yeo. Milwaukee, WI: G. Schirmer, 1999. Score. $21.95.
The serious trombonist searching for new repertoire to perform is faced with something of a dilemma; other than a few exceptions most trombone music of quality has been composed during the 20th Century. In order to fill this stylistic gap many trombonists turn to pieces composed for different instruments and adapt them for the trombone. While this may work well for the advanced trombonist, frequently the range of a particular work for 'cello or bassoon is too unwieldy for the less experienced trombonist. Trombone Essentials, 11 Recital and Contest Solos for Tenor and Bass Trombone, edited by Douglas Yeo, is a well put together collection of new solos specifically arranged for the intermediate trombonist.
Arranged in a register that is playable on both tenor and bass trombone (with one exception arranged specifically for the bass trombone) these pieces offer a challenge for the serious high school and college trombonist without being overly difficult to play. Additionally, most of the piano accompaniments should be accessible for most college pianist.
The 11 pieces in this collection are:
- Benedetto Marcello, Sonata No. 1, from Six Sonatas for Cello, 1732
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, O Isis und Osiris, from the Magic Flute, 1791
- Georg Philipp Telemann, Canonic Sonata No. 3 for trombone duet, from Six Sonatas (Sei duetti)
- Gottfried Heinrich Stelzel, Bist du Bie Mir, from the Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook, 1725
- Johann Sebastian Bach, Quia Fecit Mihi Magna, from Magnificat, BWV 243, 1723
- Jules Massenet, Meditation, from Thaïs, 1894
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Andante, from Concertstück for Clarinet and Military Band, 1878
- Robert Schumann, Adagio and Allegro (bass trombone), Op. 70, 1849
- Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Sonata in C Minor, Wq 132 (originally in A minor), 1747
- Georg Philipp Telemann, Fantasie No. 2 in C Minor, TWV 40:3 (originally in A minor), 1732
- Gabriel Fauré, Aprés un Réve, Op. 7, No.1, 1878
All but one of these pieces are arranged to be playable on both tenor and bass trombone. Schumann's Adagio and Allegro was edited specifically for the bass trombone. All but three, Telemann's Canonic Sonata No. 3, Bach's Sonata in C Minor, and Telemann's Fantasie No. 2 in C Minor, have piano accompaniment.
Trombone Essentials is a collection that will help most trombonists add variety to their repertoire. This collection offers something unique for both the intermediate and advanced players, and also brings a number of new pieces within the grasp of the majority of today's college-level trombonists.