Review

Faye-Ellen Silverman
Custom-made Shades:

Verona, NJ, United States
Publisher: Seesaw Music
Date of Publication: 2015
URL: http://www.subitomusic.com/

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Dr. Faye-Ellen Silverman is a prolific pianist and composer based on the east coast of the U.S. Her award winning music has been performed around the world. Dr. Silverman has a long relationship with brass music due to her affiliation with the International Women’s Brass Conference, of which she is a founding board member.
 
Custom-made Shades was commissioned, dedicated and premiered by trombonist Nicole Abissi. The piece is a three-movement work offering plenty of musical and technical challenges to intermediate and advanced players. The idiomatic writing of the work features fast passages using simple slide patterns and cross partial motion allowing for fluidity in agile sections. Most patterns are intuitive with no position markings, however she is clear about various slide patterns in rapid passages in the third movement. She often utilizes natural glissandi by almost always avoiding cross partial motion, the only exception is on the pickup to measure five on the first movement where she asks for a descending glissando from c1 to g, therefore breaking the natural slide smear and causing the desired effect to be unclear.
 
Each movement offers unique challenges with distinct levels of difficulty. The first one is suitable for a sophomore or junior in college; its most challenging passage features wide leaps, f-g1, marked piano at the end of the movement. The slow and lyrical second movement can be comfortably played by a college freshman. It is comprised of long phrases mostly in the low register. The last movement requires a more experienced player; it features extremely wide leaps, A to c-sharp2, trills, quarter tone technique, and cross partial glissandi, all in a fast pace and with plenty of high notes. The piece covers the range of the tenor trombone from E in the second movement to multiple d-sharp2’s in the third movement.
 
Dr. Silverman uses twentieth century tonal language while exploring exotic scales making the piece accessible to audiences and performers. Custom-made Shades is an excellent addition to the trombone repertoire and has the potential to become a new favorite in the trombone community.

-Lucas Borges
Ohio University