Review

Russell McKinney
Lenten Procession:
Trombone choir: 8 trombones: 6 tenor, 2 bass trombones (alternate contrabass)

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2022
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts.

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 8 trombones

Lenten processions take place outdoors in many countries in Southern Europe, South America and the Caribbean and in the Philippines. This piece evokes a more solemn ceremony in a church.

According to a note on the score, this piece is based on three ‘Hymn Tunes,’ but there are actually four: A la Venue de Noël - a traditional French carol, Heinlein by Martin Herbst (1654-1681), Aus der tiefe ruhe ich, a setting of Psalm 130 by Johannes Eccard (1553-1611), and Southwell (SM) by William Daman (c.1540-1591), which should not be confused with another tune of the same name, Southwell (CM), by Herbert Stephen Irons (1834-1905).

The arrangement is for two four-part choirs of three tenor and one bass trombone and is ‘suitable for moderately advanced players.’ Optional contrabass is indicated for Bass Trombone 4B which goes down to DD. Parts 1A and 1B are given in tenor clef, topping out at e¹ and g¹ respectively; other parts are in bass clef.

All four selections are in A minor. A la Venue and Heinlein are introduced in turn by Choirs 1 and 2, repeated individually; then in the more complex central section, Southwell and a variant of A la Venue are combined in eight parts. Following a further brief reference to Southwell in Choir 2, the piece ends on a unison A/a, with diminuendo to niente, at which point we may imagine lights in the church being dimmed. Russell McKinney is a free-lance bass trombonist in the Triangle area of North Carolina.