Review

Claude Debussy
Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un faune:

Arranged by Ralph Sauer


Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2013
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Claude Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is a symphonic poem scored for chamber orchestra and is known for its flowing, improvisatory woodwind melodies, and complex and rich harmonies. Ralph Sauer’s arrangement does a fine job of capturing the vast color palette used in the original work, particularly the rich accompaniment in the piano part. Sauer utilizes many broken chords and arpeggios along with tremolos and wide intervals in each hand to capture the sound of harp glissandos and rich string chords along with the wind and horn accompaniment parts.
 
Sauer notates the melody clearly and elegantly in the solo trombone part. Phrasing and articulation markings are quite clear and complete, and will aid the trombonist in mimicking the flowing melody passed among flute, clarinet, and strings. The arrangement is in the original key of c-sharp minor, and Sauer notates all of the extensive expressive text in the original French. This is a nice touch, as it helps “paint the picture” more clearly for the trombonist than a translation would.
 
Technical demands on the trombone player are primarily rhythmic and stylistic. The piece moves between 9/8, 6/8 and 12/8 meters, and the flowing melodic lines are made up of many 16th notes, 32nd notes, and triplets. The solo part is written in tenor clef and stays in the upper-middle range of the tenor trombone going as high as d-flat2. This arrangement is appropriate for an advanced collegiate level trombone player, and provides a great opportunity for a student to learn how to correctly play in the late-19th Century impressionist style.

-J.J. Cooper
Fort Hays State University