Review

Jean Sibelius
Romance in C Op.42:

Arranged by Ralph Sauer

Tuba or bass trombone and piano

Vancouver, British Columbia, United States
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2017
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Bass/Contrabass Trombone - with piano

Ralph Sauer has taken the Romance in C Major by Jean Sibelius, which was originally composed for string orchestra, and created a version for bass trombone or tuba with piano. As is common with many of Mr. Sauer’s arrangements, it stays close to the original, essentially giving the first violin melody to the soloist while combining the remaining parts in the piano score.

The piece is a brief sixty-seven measures long cast in a modified ABA form. The B section is bookmarked by two brief fugal sections, eight measures at the beginning and five measures at the end, that provide a nice contrast to the otherwise primarily homophonic texture of the piece. The A theme is stated almost exactly the same when it returns aside from a subtle variation at the beginning and the addition of a short coda that includes a restatement of the fugal theme in the solo part.

The Romance in C Major is a charming piece that gives the performer an opportunity to play with elasticity and tempo rubato in an expressive manner. Its melodic range, just over two octaves, C to e-flat¹, is quite modest and the solo part remains in the bass clef throughout the entire work. As has come to be expected with Cherry publications, the work is easy to read and available either as a hard copy or download.