Review

Brian Pappal
In Memoriam: A Chorale After Bruckner:
Tenor 1 (Optional Alto Trombone) Tenor 2 Bass

N.p., , United States
Publisher: Brian Pappal
Date of Publication: 2018
URL: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gjphnstazhfq1um/IN%20MEMORIAM%20Trombone%20Trio%20-%20Complete%20Score%20and%20Parts.pdf?dl=0

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 3 trombones

In February of 2017, the trombone community lost a talented, admired, and influential musician with the passing of Murray Crewe. A longtime member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and faculty member at Duquesne University, his loss was felt by many. Composer Brian Pappal, once a student of Murray’s at Duquesne, chose a fitting memorial with his composition In Memoriam: A Chorale after Bruckner. Inspired by Murray’s love of Bruckner motets, this piece draws its harmonic and melodic languages from Bruckner’s music and also calls to mind the long history of “equale” music used for memorial occasions.

The piece is set for a trio of two tenor trombones and bass trombone; the highest part may be played on alto trombone at the performer’s option; an additional alto clef part is included for this purpose. While, as a chorale, it is not rhythmically complex, mature players are required to handle its musical content and tunings of Bruckner-style extended harmonies. The bass trombone part ranges from BB-flat to g1. The second tenor trombone part stretches to b-flat1. The highest part requires a player with endurance in the high range as the part reaches d2 and generally lingers in the upper register. All four parts, including the optional alto clef version, and the score are clearly and thoughtfully prepared.

I was fortunate enough to hear the premier of this piece at the 2018 ITF, performed by Paul Pollard, James Nova, Crewe’s PSO colleague, and David Binder. It is both a beautiful piece and a fitting tribute; the performance was moving. In order to allow the largest number of people to honor Murray’s memory, Brian Pappal has decided not to sell this work, but to make it available for free. He simply asks to be notified of performances via email so he can share the experience.