Review

Richard Wagner
Three Lieder:

Arranged by Bob Burnham

Trombone sextet: six trombones: solo trombone and trombone quintet: 3 tenor, 2 bass trombones

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2021
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts.

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 6 trombones

In 1857, Richard Wagner found time amidst work on his seminal opera Tristan und Isolde to set music to five poems by Mathilde Wesendonck. Mathilde’s husband Otto was a wealthy patron of Wagner and provided him housing after his flight from the authorities in Dresden. It is possible that Mathilde served as Wagner’s inspiration for the character of Isolde. Wagner later acknowledged that several of these song settings served as studies for Tristan und Isolde. Transcribing Wagner for trombones has a long history, and trombonist Bob Burnham follows in this tradition setting three of the Wesendonck Lieder for solo trombone and trombone quintet, three tenors and two basses.

The first song, Der Engel (the Angel), speaks of an angel descending from heaven to gently lift a soul to heaven. An arpeggiated accompaniment that passes between the quintet parts ushers in a soaring diatonic melody. The gentle rhythmic flow of the accompaniment ushers the melody forward. It ebbs and flows before ending peacefully.

The second song, Schmerzen (heartaches), is marked langsam (slow) and breit (broad). The original song text portrays the “red eyes” of the sun at sunset which mirror the sorrowing of the human heart as well as the hope of the following sunrise. The dotted rhythms of the song melody project the majesty of the sun and the resilience of the heart. The first trombone part enters on high b2. Its tessitura remains high, rising to c2 near the end, and it carries the melodic responsibility of the quintet. The other parts are entirely accompanimental.

Wagner marked the final setting, Träume (dreams), as a study for his opera Tristan und Isolde. Its melody can be found in the love duet in act two. The song begins softly with a long introduction. It gradually builds in intensity before returning to a quiet close. The melody begins simply, but gradually increases in complexity before returning to its repose.

There is much to commend these settings from a more obscure part of Wagner’s catalog. The trombone ensemble captures well the many fluctuations of the musical expression. An unusual aspect of this arrangement is that the solo part is written in a low tessitura that generally falls between the third trombone and the upper bass trombone part. A bass trombone will best project the solo part given its lower tessitura. The trombonist performing the first part will require a strong upper register, but the other parts are in reasonable ranges. These settings are not technically difficult but require musical maturity to fully portray the depth of the music.