Review

Ernst Sachse
Concertino for Alto Trombone and Piano:

Arranged by Charles Vernon, edited by Erik Saras

Alto 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 Alto Trombone - with piano

Ernst Sachse (1810-1849) was a trumpeter in the Weimar-Hofkapelle. He wrote this work in 1844/45, originally for trumpet or cornet. According to a note on Cherry’s web-site, it was most likely first performed on E-flat cornet by Sachse himself. It was subsequently published in 1884 in an arrangement for trombone and piano written by Carl Gerlach, a Danish composer and arranger (1832-1893), for Moritz Nabich (1815-1893), a trombone virtuoso and also a member of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar’s band.

The original key of this work was B-flat; this arrangement is in E-flat. It is comprised of three short movements playing continuously. The piano takes a little time deciding whether the piece is in a major or minor key. The trombone enters in m13 with a rising motive of two measures using the notes of an E-flat major chord, which is repeated, then followed by a tritone interval, repeated a step higher, before the movement gets down to the serious business of being in E-flat. There are several variations on the theme, which interestingly has some resemblance to the famous Gendarmes’ Duet composed by Jacques Offenbach in 1859, and a short contrasting middle section in A-flat, Andante/Adagio. The last movement, back in E-flat, is a set of variations on the aria ‘Dell’ aura tua profetica’ from Act 1 of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera Norma (1831). This is something you might whistle while walking the dog.

It is quite a demanding piece, including a two-octave interval from d² to d in m42. However, out of a total 278 measures with repeats, the soloist has 77 full measures of rest. Overall range is E-flat-e-flat². The low E-flat is a pedal-note, otherwise the lowest note is A, and a B-flat attachment is not required. This work was recorded on tenor trombone by Armin Rosin in 1973 on Romantik Pur - Colosseum Classics COL 9034.2, which was claimed to be ‘the very first recording of trombone concertos in the world.’ Erik Saras is a trombonist, composer and arranger working in New York City, and has an extensive list of publications to his name.