Review


Armand Russell
Sonatina:
Trombone and piano

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2019
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Armand Russell, Professor Emeritus of the University of Hawai’i, has created a generous contribution of works written for the low brass family to include three works for solo trombone and piano, one work for tuba and woodwind quintet, and several works for trombone chamber ensembles. Sonatina, his fourth solo trombone composition, is the latest addition to his oeuvre.

Sonatina offers little in the ways of technical difficulty, with a range of G-g-flat¹, rhythmic values never exceeding an eighth note, and rudimentary simple and compound meters. Marketed towards intermediate level performers, the limited technical challenge allows Sonatina to introduce performers to a more modern compositional style.

The first movement, Allegro, follows an altered Sonata-Allegro form. The explosion of the exposition’s primary theme, nearly spanning the range of the composition in five beats, is contrasted by a conjunct, lyrical secondary theme. Much like the first movement of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Concerto for Trombone, the “development” serves as a transition to the recapitulation rather than an extensively developed section of previously heard thematic material. With little melodic input, the piano provides support comprised mostly of fourths and fifths.

The second movement, Lento e cantabile, starts with both solo and accompaniment written in similar registers. The timbre brightens as the movement progresses, with both hands of the piano ending above c¹. Tensions build as the solo metrically accelerates to its climactic peak, before wilting into the reserved melody of its beginning.

The final movement, Vivo, is a palindromic arch form (ABCBA) that is clearly demarcated by contrasting style/time signatures. Offering the greatest technical challenges of the piece, this movement creates tension through a rhythmic drive offset by syncopated accents, mirrored in the accompaniment. With navigable time changes, this drive continues into a playful 6/8 (B) before easing to a hymn-like chorale (C).

Though most of the work is laid out in a practical and logical manner, two specific instances exist where editorial markings are confusing and/or unnecessarily deceptive. First, the second movement utilizes both dotted and solid line slurs, with no clear difference between them. Second, measure 42 in the third movement shows the melody as F-flat – E-sharp – D, while this exact moment occurs later (the same between both parts) in measure 82 as E – F – D.

Overall, this composition is quite suitable for advanced high school and first year college students, promoting the development of clean, crisp articulations, smooth slurs “across the grain,” and opening a path to more contemporary harmonies.

Reviewer: Tim Hutchens
Review Published June 20, 2023