Review

Gustav Mahler
What the Morning Bell Tells Me: from Symphony No. 3, Movement 5

Arranged by Ohad Wand

Ten tenors, two bass trombones

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

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 9+ trombones (choir)

As trombonists, we have probably spent inordinate amounts of time listening to and analyzing the first movement of Mahler’s epic third symphony due to its solo passages. Of course, the entire work, Mahler’s longest, is of great importance to trombonists and the orchestral world in general. Following the lengthy first movement are five shorter (a relative term in Mahler’s compositional output) movements in different styles. The fifth movement, originally with the programmatic title What the Morning Bell Tells Me (or sometimes What the Angels Tell Me), is scored for orchestra, alto solo, and chorus using text from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Ohad Wand, who was a student of Dr. John Marcellus at the Eastman School of Music, has arranged this movement for a trombone ensemble of twelve parts: ten tenor trombones and two bass trombones.

According to the Cherry Classic website, this was arranged for and recorded by the Eastman Trombone Choir; as such, you can expect the parts to be demanding. The first trombone part goes as high as e-flat2. The lowest part, labeled “Bass Trombone 12” but actually the second of two bass trombone parts, descends to CC. The style of the piece alternates between light and lyrical, requiring players with sensitivity in addition to range. All parts have ample opportunities for rest, a fact that should be appreciated by the person on the highest part.

The conductor will find the score to be laid out carefully and easy to read. With twelve parts, expect no more than a handful of measures to be displayed per page. The performers will also find their parts easy to read. Ohad Wand’s arrangement of this great music should find a home in the libraries of trombone ensembles with suitably advanced players.