Review

Richard Wagner
Die Walküre:: Excerpt from Act Two

Arranged by Ralph Sauer

6 tenor, 1 bass, 1 contrabass trombone, optional timpani

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

This trombone choir arrangement features the iconic, soft, dark, brooding music from Act II of Die Walküre. It is arranged for six tenor trombones, bass trombone, and contrabass trombone with optional timpani. Timpani can be played from cues in the bass trombone part and the contra bass trombone part is quite playable on bass trombone if contra is not available, though ideally contra best matches the color of the original orchestration. The arranger draws mainly from the opening of Act II, scene I for this arrangement and presents several of the best known leitmotivs from the opera. He has given all the parts interesting melodic material and provides a great study in the power and difficulty of controlled soft playing on the trombone; it is accessible to most university level trombone choirs. These types of arrangements are valuable in getting students familiar with orchestral and operatic literature they will probably not have the opportunity to play and also present this music on the concert stage. Range: FF to d2. Grade 4.