Review

Christian M. Newman
Prelude for Bass Trombone and Piano “Kalki.” :

, United States
Publisher: Christian M. Newman
Date of Publication: 2013

Primary Genre: Solo Bass/Contrabass Trombone - with piano

Christian M. Newman (b.1981) is a young composer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This work is to be the first of a set of five pieces for bass trombone and piano by the composer. Newman states in the performance notes that the Prelude is intended to musically depict the coming of Kalki, the final incarnation of Vishnu in the Hindu religion. According to Hindu texts, Kalki will arrive on a white horse and bring a cataclysmic end to our current age. The piece alternates between legato diatonic passages and repeated accented descending leaps. The juxtaposition of these two opposing musical ideas is primarily how the composer creates the “cataclysmic” and destructive tone of Kalki’s arrival. The shifting meter and the wide, often dissonant, leaps also add a feeling of uneasiness.

Newman’s Prelude is appropriate for collegiate bass trombonists. However, there is a small section written in tenor clef where the range ascends to b-flat1, so the player must be able to read tenor clef and have a strong upper register. There are also some rhythmic challenges, as the meter is often uneven and shifted across measures. Consequently, some of the interactions with the piano part are tricky to align.

This piece showcases the powerful and perhaps sometimes “cataclysmic” nature of the bass trombone as a solo instrument. As the opening movement of what is intended to be a larger work, this piece represents a nice starting point by the composer. As the piece currently stands, it is a little too short and lacking in thematic contrast to be performed on its own but could work well as an opening movement once the remaining movements are completed.

-J.J. Cooper
New York, NY