Review

Edvard Grieg
Nordaak's Funeral March:

Arranged by Randall Malmstrom

2 alto, 4 tenor, 2 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 - 8 trombones

Edvard Greig’s friendship with the young Norwegian nationalist composer Rikard Nordråk began in 1864 during a brief stay in Denmark while studying with the Danish composer Niels Gade. Nordråk’s strong national fervor and love of Norweigan folk music influenced Grieg’s path to become a musician dedicated to Romantic nationalism. Two years later, in 1866, Nordråk contracted tuberculosis and died at the early age of 23 years. Greig was in Rome when informed of his friend's passing and began composing the Funeral March the same day. Originally written for piano, two additional versions for brass band with percussion and military band were eventually scored by Greig. The composer's fondness for the work is evidenced by his expressed wish that “… my Nordraak funeral march--which I always carry with me when I travel--be played as beautifully as possible” at his own interment.

Randal Malmstrom’s arrangement of the Funeral March is for trombone octet; two altos, four tenors, and two basses.  Malmstrom’s arranging skills should be familiar to most ITA members with over thirty arrangements available as PDF downloads from the “Members-Only Area” of the ITA website. Although a trombone quintet arrangement of the Funeral March is available as part of that catalogue, this version for trombone octet is superior. The varied timbres of alto, tenor, and bass trombones along with the denser sound from the increased number of parts produce a more satisfactory version. This arrangement closely mirrors the harmonic voicing of the original version, includes ample rest to minimize possible endurance issues, and detailed indications of dynamics/articulations contribute to the overall quality of the publication. This is an entertaining arrangement for both performer and listener, worthy of performance consideration.