Review

Petros Shoujounian
Twelve Duos for Trombones: In the Footsteps of Komitas
Trombone Duets for alto, tenor, and bass trombones

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

Score

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 2 trombones

Soghomon Soghomonian (1869-1935), commonly known as Komitas, was an Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, choirmaster, and singer, and is considered to be the founder of the Armenian national school of music and one of the pioneers of ethnomusicology. These pieces have been selected from his collection of over 3,000 melodies.

There are three duos apiece for pairs of tenor, alto and bass trombones, and for a combination of tenor and bass trombones. Tenor trombone parts are given in bass clef throughout. Tonalities are modal: two Aeolian, five Dorian, and three in the Ionian (major mode). Two duos are bi-modal: Mixolydian/Lydian (No.10) and Phrygian/Ionian (No.11). All have evocative titles: Happy Song, The Cowboy etc.

These pieces are well-suited to students in a conservatory/university where all of the required combinations are available. Each duo is designed to address specific technical issues. As examples, the first selection, White Mountain, includes two against three, extensive ornamentation and a variety of articulations. Me and You (No.11) makes much use of appoggiatura. Mutes (unspecified) are called for in both parts in Wedding Song (No.5), which is in 7/4 meter.

The overall playing time given is the sum of my estimates for playing times of each individual selection, average 1:30 min, range 1:00-2:30, and these may of course vary in practice. Text and dynamics overlap at the bottom of several pages. Production otherwise is good.

This is an interesting collection drawn from a generally little known source and should be found enjoyable by all trombone players with a little curiosity. Petros Shoujounian (b.1957) is an Armenian/Canadian composer living in Montréal.