Review

David Lawrence Ritt
Melodious Accompaniments for Trombone or Euphonium: To Harmonize the Etudes of Joannes Rochut Book 2

N.p., , United States
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2015

68 pages

Primary Genre: Study Material - etude

David Lawrence Ritt has been a member of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra since 1981 and has composed some wonderful accompaniments to harmonize the etudes of Marco Bordogni, as transcribed by Johannes Rochut, from volume two, or book two, of the Melodious Etudes, numbers 61-90. They are similar to the counterparts composed for book one by others. Ritt has also composed accompaniment parts to book one of the same Bordogni/Rochut edition. There is great biographical information about Joannes Rochut supplied in the forward by Ritt along with tips for performance of these accompaniments. Overall, these newly composed accompaniments are great for improving intonation and sense of pulse. Ritt says it best, “developing expressiveness and musical communication with other players, [is] a vital skill in ensemble playing.” All the etudes are in bass clef and, in general, are lower compared to the Bordogni/Rochut. It is recommended that these accompaniments be played on a trombone with an F-attachment because the lines do dip down to low E-flat and D frequently. Some of the etudes suggest changes to original notes for harmonic purposes. An example of this comes in No.74, page 30, measures 24 and 26. Ritt adds a note below the measure with an asterisk that says, “change the Rochut D-flats to D-naturals.” Perhaps this is correcting the Rochut edition or perhaps it just fits better with his harmonic progression and counter melody. A lack of measure numbers at the beginning of each line constitutes the only minor criticism. That said, this volume of accompaniments is a great addition to the Bordogni/Rochut etudes for the more advanced undergraduate student and beyond. They bring these thirty etudes to new life.