Review

William Pagán-Pérez
The Rise of the Eleutherodactylus Coquí:
Trombone and piano.

Buffalo, New York, United States
Publisher: William Pagán-Pérez
Date of Publication: 2020
URL: http://www.williampagan.com

Score and solo part.

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

This is an interesting and quite challenging piece in a distinctively original style. It also carries an explicit political message. The composer was born in Puerto Rico in 1976 and now lives in the United States. The program note he provides indicates that the piece expresses the resilience of the Puerto Rican people and their hopes for a better future. The piece takes its title from a frog native to the island, and in fact, the Coquí is now regarded as the island’s National Symbol. The interval of a fourth used throughout the piece simulates its distinctive call.

The style is strongly tonal; there are only seven accidentals in the piano part and none in the trombone part. The piano begins with a G minor chord, reiterated through the next 27 measures. The trombone enters in the fourth measure on a, which is reiterated through the next 20 measures, reflecting perhaps the inherent ambivalence of the migrant. The key changes to C major at m61 and back to G minor at m81. C major, which may now be seen to represent hope for the future, returns in the final 21 measures, the trombone ending diminuendo through two measures to ppp on c. The piano continues for another five measures, repeating a high g¹, with which the piece ends, a solitary unaccented note marked ppp. The sostenuto pedal is needed throughout this piece, and especially in the last three measures. Trombone range covers D-d² with an optional low C. Tenor and bass clefs are used as appropriate.

Score and part are published together as a single file. In the copy I received, page 5 is missing from the trombone part; this covers mm125-159: five pages of score comprising 26 measures of music and 9 measures of rest.

Mr. Pagán-Pérez has composed extensively for the trombone, solo and ensemble; a list of his self-published works is included (twice) in this publication. They are available at www.williampagan.com.