Review

Brad Edwards
Three Calls for Unaccompanied Trombone:
Trombone

N.p., , United States
Publisher: Brad Edwards
Date of Publication: 2020
URL: http://www.trombonezone.org

Score

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - unaccompanied

In his helpful performance notes, the composer tells us “This piece was written in March 2020. While this was in the middle of the COVID-19 shut-down I cannot say those events inspired the piece. However, the movement titles do feel somehow appropriate.” He goes on to deal with turns, trills, alternate positions, flutter tongue, glissandi and rips. Other technical requirements that are not covered in his notes include trilling through a glissando, and ‘ghosting.’ Some slide positions are specified, especially in passages marked portamento. An F-attachment is required.

This is a challenging piece in an extended tonal style, covering a four-octave range from EE-flat-e-flat². Bass and tenor clefs are used as appropriate. There are many changes of meter; seven different signatures are used. The piece is cast in three, separate sections - Mystery, Frenzy and Serenity, each beginning with a two measure phrase in anapestic meter marked ‘calling out,’ connecting us to a creative energy that cannot be extinguished, even at a time of social isolation from friends and colleagues. Movement timings are as given in the score, where they are indicated as ‘approximate.’

Mystery (2:30) The first note is a low D. After the ‘call’ the following section in 7/8 is described as ‘a persistent flickering notion at the edge of consciousness,’ and it is obvious that the interpretive and expressive demands are going to be at least as great as the technical. These include many wide intervals, triplet 16ths, trills and rips, the first from low F to c², leading into a section marked ‘Crying out with wonder and a little fear.’ The movement ends pp on AA, going down to EE-flat, diminuendo to niente.

Frenzy (2:30) This section is marked Frenetic ♩=144 or Faster and then Relentless (♩=108). Again there are many 16ths, large intervals, and glissandi with ‘ghosted’ notes. The final interval is b¹ to D: ff to pp.

Serenity (3:00) This section is marked In the manner of a lullaby ♩=c.76. Its middle section, ‘In the manner of a country dance’, has a key signature of three sharps. The more relaxed tempo notwithstanding, technical demands are still significant, including wide range, many 32nd notes, and trigger-pedal notes included in groups of widely spaced 16ths. In the final measures, a diminuendo on e-flat², then down four octaves to a long-held EE-flat.

This is a major addition to the repertoire for solo trombone and should soon be finding its way onto recital programs. Brad Edwards was born in 1963. He currently teaches at Arizona State University and is Principal Trombonist in the South Carolina Philharmonic based in Columbia, SC.