Review

Camille Saint-Saëns
The Nightingale:

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

Originally titled Le Rossignol et al Rose, this piece comes from incidental music that Saint-Saëns composed for a 1902 play, Parysatis, by Jane Dieulafoy. The music was written for soprano, chorus and piano and occurs during act II, scene 3, Scéne et Ballet. The soprano has only one lyric, “Ah,” making this similar to the Bordogni vocalises that we all know and love. As one can guess from the title, the job of the performer is to imitate the song of the nightingale. 

Technically this piece is extremely challenging, both for the tessitura and the copious amounts of delicate playing required. The range of the trombone part is d to d2. The delicate nature of this piece, both in sound and technique, does not easily lend itself to the large equipment that most people play. With that said, exploring the color of a medium or even small bore horn might be worth the effort. Keep in mind that the dynamic should never be overbearing and upper register notes should be soaring with a pure tone. Experimenting with rubato is a must in the piece as the tempo marking is Senza tempo, ad lib! Switching out the piano accompaniment for harp is another color possibility; almost all the vocal recordings I have heard use harp. With diligent and intelligent practice this piece will be a beautiful addition to any solo recital. 

-Jonathan Gill
Tarleton State University