Review

Richard Strauss
Excerpts from the opera "Die Frau ohne Schatten":

Arranged by Randall Malmstrom

Trombone Octet: Eight trombones: 6 tenor, 2 bass trombones

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

Score and parts.

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 8 trombones

Randall Malmstrom’s arrangement of Richard Strauss’ opera The Woman Without a Shadow is an excellent 3.5 minute work, well-suited for a trombone choir recital. Distilling the 666 page orchestral score to a concise 71 measures demonstrates Malmstrom’s nuanced understanding of the opera and Strauss’ orchestration and vocal writing conventions. For example, the opera’s iconic opening of Wagner Tubas (Tenor Horn) and other low brass are voiced perfectly through this arrangement, with half of the trombone choir scored below the bass clef. While these extracts focus on the music of first act, the work ends with the calm descending closure for the full opera.

This arrangement will work well for an ensemble of mixed-level musicians as every part contains exposed moments. The upper two tenor and lowest bass trombone part have enough melodic and range challenges to keep the more advanced musicians fully engaged. The first trombone ascends to high d-flat² and the second goes up to c-flat² in alto clef. The lowest bass trombone descends to pedal EE-flat, with an optional pedal CC. As the low E-flats of the fifth and sixth tenor trombone parts are only for the first few measures, you should feel free to swap those measures with choir members best able to sound a resonant and sustained lower register.

As the majority of this arrangement’s melodies have been transcribed from various woodwind, brass, and vocal passages, I recommend investing time with the opera score to assist your understanding of the nuanced textures. Beyond the transcribing of instrumental passages of bassoon, horn, and other tutti sections, there are several notable solo vocal and choral passages that invite a deeper read of the libretto (and a translation). Two notable vocal parts of the opera found in this arrangement are the Emperor (section A (m.6) aligns with Act I, scene I solo tenor vocal line), and the City Watchmen (m.34 matches the second scene’s trio of City Watchmen). This is an appealing, welcome arrangement featuring a range of musical demands in each part; the operatic music will be a great addition to any concert program.