Review


John Frith
Three Beeches:
Bass trombone and piano

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

Score and solo part.

Primary Genre: Solo Bass/Contrabass Trombone - with piano

John Frith is a British composer born in 1947 who has written a large number of works for brass instruments, along with much music for wind bands, woodwinds, and choirs. The present work was written for bass trombone virtuoso Jonathan Warburton and makes extreme demands on the trombonist. “The ‘beeches’ of the title are located in Lampeter, Wales U.K., close to the composer’s home. These ancient trees are majestic, beautiful, and inspirational.”

The Cherry Classics web page says: “The music begins with a simple and quiet melody, gradually adding more and more complexity and agitation, until the explosive climax at the end.” It is a fair description: the music starts at a quite calm level and builds in intensity over the 3:30 minutes of its duration. The thematic material is straightforward, beginning with b-flat, a, f, d – in other words a minor triad preceded by the upper neighbor. Beginning softly and rather slowly, the work moves into a faster, con moto section filled with scale passages in eighth notes and later in sixteenths. Several of the scale passages take the soloist way down into the pedal range, often beginning on the second of a group of sixteenths – very active and demanding for the player!

Another aspect of the challenge to the soloist is the range. The part stays in the middle range for the most part, but there are several b-flat¹s often leading directly down in arpeggios to pedal DDs, as happens right before the end.

This is an intense and exciting piece, active both for the trombonist and the pianist. It takes strong performers who are able to work well together. It is difficult but will make an excellent impression when played well. I offer a strong salute to Mr. Frith both for writing as much as he has for bass trombone and for doing such an outstanding job!

Reviewer: Philip Brink
Review Published June 24, 2023