Review

Enrique Granados
Two Spanish Dances:

Arranged by Ralph Sauer


Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2012
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Mr. Sauer brings us yet another example of beautiful piano music elegantly arranged to include trombone. In Two Spanish Dances, he taps the genius of one of the most famous Spanish composers, Enrique Granados. This arrangement comes from his Danzas españolas, a collection of twelve dances of varying styles.
 
The first dance, entitled Oriental, is in classic ternary form. Its lyrical A section in triple meter is contrasted by a mysterious B section composed in compound duple featuring florid grace note decoration. The second dance, Fandango, in the traditional Spanish style, is full of motion and flamboyance— one can almost hear castanets in the percussive writing for piano. A tempo marking of Energico makes this dance a bit of a technical challenge, but supports the lively character of the work, propelling it toward an exciting finale.
 
Since a relatively small number of Spanish influenced trombone works exist, Two Spanish Dances makes a significant contribution to our canon of repertoire. This engaging and challenging work will make a wonderful addition to any recital program. An overall range spanning from F-sharp to d2 with several optional octave transpositions makes the piece accessible to advanced players. It is notated in tenor clef apart from a single low passage written in bass clef. 
 
-Philip Martinson
Saint Leo University