Review

Anton Bruckner
Zwei Aequale:
Alto, tenor, and bass trombone

Munich, , Germany
Publisher: G. Henle Verlag
Date of Publication: 2018
URL: http://www.halleonard.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 3 trombones

An Aequale (Equale) is a musical form often associated with funeral traditions and commemorations in Upper Austria. They are brief, chorale-like and somber in character, normally scored for trombone trio or quartet. The most famous example is the Beethoven Three Equali, commissioned and performed in 1812 for an All Soul’s Day commemoration in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. In 1847 the young (age 22) Anton Bruckner was employed as a teacher and organist in Linz when he composed his Two Aequale. They were most likely composed for the funeral services of his great aunt Rosalia Mayrhofer. In keeping with tradition, they are brief, 34 and 27 bars respectively, solemn, chorale-like and scored for alto, tenor and bass trombone. This Henle Urtext Edition is based on the autograph sources from two monastery libraries in Upper Austria. The bass trombone part for the second Aequale was lost; this edition includes a reconstruction by Dominik Rahmer based on the scoring in the first Aequale. Dynamic indications are given in Aequale No.2 but none in Aequale No.1. In this edition the score clefs are alto, tenor and bass; the parts are all in bass clef. Several other versions exist, including the MS available on IMSLP. One can also hear a number of fine recordings on YouTube.