Review

Isaac Albéniz
Three Pieces from “Suite Española" :

Arranged by Ralph Sauer


Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2013
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Piano score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Originally for solo piano, Ralph Sauer brings these beautiful Albéniz melodies to the tenor trombone. Each piece depicts the musical styles of a particular region in Spain during the late 19th century. This transcription is best suited to anyone with a strong high register, easy command of cross-partial ornaments, and a wide palette of articulations. The trombone part spans a range from G to d-flat2, is written entirely in tenor clef, and requires a mute for the second piece, Asturias. Two of the pieces, Granada and Sevilla, have been transposed down from their original keys, optimizing the upper tessitura of the tenor trombone. The accompaniment has also been thinned out and in some cases rewritten to accommodate the need for octave displacement of melodic lines. Otherwise, this version stays faithful to the original. The use of trombone may even enhance some of the expressive shortcomings of the piano. Score and parts are visually pleasing, editing is thorough and all page turns and line-breaks occur in logical places. It is available from Cherry Classics Music and will make a great addition to any recital program.

-Greg Strohman
Dickinson College