Review


Richard Wagner
Pilgrim's Chorus from Tannhäuser:

Arranged by Ralph Sauer

6 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

The “Pilgrim’s Chorus” from Wagner’s opera Tannhäuser has long been a staple of the trombone ensemble repertory. The Chorus is a hymn sung by pilgrims returning from a journey to Rome seeking absolution for their sins. It begins with male acapella voices. Half-way through, the orchestra joins, adding rhythmic intensity to the vocal crescendo. The climax comes with the choir shouting “Hallelujah." The work closes quietly as the procession passes off into the distance.

Ralph Sauer has added a new octet arrangement of this chorus to the trombone ensemble repertoire. The octet is divided into two quartets, three tenor trombones and one bass trombone in each. At the beginning the two quartets trade phrases of the hymn. At the point where the orchestra enters in the original score, Sauer assigns the triplet figures to the second quartet while the first quartet continues the chorale. What follows is the moment that sets this arrangement apart from the others. Sauer places the descending sixteenth note passages originally played by the violins of the orchestra into the first and second trombone parts. These sixteenth-note passages do not appear in other arrangements, and their inclusion adds drama to the arrangement and also makes it more difficult.

This arrangement is intended for an advanced ensemble, but its range requirements are entirely reasonable. Parts one and two briefly rise to c2. The bass parts descend to pedal BB-flat but stay primarily in the staff. In fact, most of the parts stay within the staff, although for the top two parts in each quartet this means staying within the tenor clef staff. Players on parts one and two will need the technical facility to gracefully negotiate the aforementioned sixteenth-note passages. This setting of the “Pilgrim’s Chorus” will be a fulfilling challenge for many collegiate level ensembles.

Reviewer: Paul Overly
Review Published June 23, 2023