Review

Max Bruch
Ave Maria:

Arranged by Patrick Geren

Solo tuba and trombone ensemble

Louisville, KY, United States
Publisher: Potenza Music Publishing
Date of Publication: 2014
URL: http://www.potenzamusic.com

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 6+ brass (choir)
Secondary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 9+ trombones (choir)

The Ave Maria of Max Bruch, like the composer’s Kol Nidrei, was originally written for cello and orchestra and has been skillfully arranged for tuba solo and trombone ensemble by Patrick Geren. The four printed accompanying trombone parts all require divisi so a minimum of eight players is required for a successful performance. Geren has kept Ave Maria in its original key, which necessitated a number of octave displacements for the solo part, and one technical passage has been simplified for performance on tuba.
 
This arrangement of Bruch’s nearly 10-minute long work requires an accomplished soloist and accompanying trombonists who can play with great sensitivity. With the solo part written mostly in the staff and the trombone ensemble playing as low (FF) and much higher (d2) than the tuba soloist, the texture of the accompaniment can easily overwhelm the solo part. Geren accounts for this, in part, by employing cup mutes for trombones in the opening section of the piece, but he curiously omits them in the work’s recapitulation and coda. For an ensemble with players and conductor who are committed to transparent playing, Ave Maria is a welcome if demanding addition to a recital. The solo part, which ranges from FF to g1, is playable on bass trombone although special care will need to be taken to keep the solo from being subsumed into the accompanying trombone ensemble texture. The score and parts are well laid out and clearly printed on bright, white paper and page turns are thankfully well placed. Recommended.

-Douglas Yeo
Arizona State University (retired)
Boston Symphony Orchestra (retired)