Review

Ewa Fabiańska-Jelińska
Meditation III for Solo Trombone.:
Solo trombone

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Publisher: https://jelinska.com/en/works/solo
Date of Publication: 2016
URL: https://jelinska.com/en/works/solo

Score

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - unaccompanied

Following graduation with honors from the Paderewski Academy of Music, Poznań, Poland, Ewa Fabianska-Jelińska completed postgraduate composition studies at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna and received her Ph.D. in composition at the Paderewski Academy of Music in 2016. Her works have been performed in Poland and at prestigious cultural events in Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, South Korea and the United States. Her husband, Wojciech Jeliński, is a noted trombonist, for whom she has written a number of works for trombone and trombone quartet.

https://jelinska.com/en/works/solo/
https://jelinska.com/en/works/chamber/
https://jelinska.com/en/works/orchestral/

Meditation III was written for and premiered by Wojciech Jelinski in 2016. The composer writes the following:
Meditation III: There are 3 parts in the composition:
I. Vivo agitato (ca 1'30) - ad libitum. Rhythmic freedom and free use of the given sound material (in terms of order and regularity) are allowed. The first part is divided into short, interrupted sections that the performer can repeat in any order.
II. Largo misterioso (ca 3'00) - with cup mute, striking the bell and multiphonics.
III. Andante tranquillo (ca 1'30) - breathing and speaking into the instrument and again striking the bell. It is possible to make short (a few seconds long) breaks between the sections.

Prayer and contemplation inspire the piece. When we start the prayer, we try to calm down and move away from the chaos of everyday life. This process is difficult initially, but gradually we find calm, relief and we can envelope ourselves in the depths of prayer.
Contrast is the characteristic for this composition, between the speed and chaos of modern civilization and the tranquility of contemplation. 

This is an outstanding contribution to the solo trombone literature by a young and rising star in the composition world. Its combination of traditional and more modern musical gestures, coupled with a variety of interesting colors, convey the emotional message of the music in a vivid manner. It does require a mature performer to tackle both the technical, especially lower register, and musical challenges of this work. There is an excellent recording found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XK_YrSKnJM