Review

Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Barcarolle Op.37, No.6: from "The Seasons"

Arranged by Ralph Sauer

Trombone and piano

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2020
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

This piece, originally for piano, was written in 1876 for the June issue of Nuvelist. The accompanying poem is by Aleksey Pleshcheyev - “Let us go to the shore, there the waves will kiss our legs. With mysterious sadness, the stars will shine down on us.” Tchaikovsky later set 14 of Pleshcheyev’s poems in 16 Songs for Children, Op.54. Interestingly, this piece is in 4/4 meter and not the 6/8 signature characteristic of a barcarolle.  It is marked Andante cantabile and is in its original key of G minor. The central section Poco piu mosso is in G major; the last 12 measures, Allegro giocoso, are in 3/4. With the reprise of the Andante cantabile, the piano has the main melody and the trombone plays the counter melody.

The trombone part throughout has a pleasant and easy-going lyricism and there are no significant difficulties. Tenor and bass clefs are used as appropriate; overall range is F-sharp to c², topping out four times on high c². The piano part is generally quite easy, but the 9-part chords in mm.51/52 might be a bit of a stretch for smaller hands.