Review

Axel Jørgensen
Fantasie Legende:

Arranged by Niels-Ole Bo Johanssen

Trombone and orchestra

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

Score and parts.

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with orchestra

Danish trombonist Niels-Ole Bo Johansen provides us with another edition of a work by his countryman, Axel Jørgensen. Jørgensen, a Danish composer from the early part of the 20th Century, writes in a Romantic style, with a colorful harmonic idiom. This edition of Fantasie-Legende is just over four minutes long and is scored for trombone and orchestra.

Fantasie-Legende is cast in a simple three-part form. The first section in A major contains lyrical, symmetrical phrases but closes dramatically with a phrase marked marcato that rises to high b-natural (b¹). The middle section is a more light-hearted tempo di menuetto that flirts with several key centers but emphasizes F-sharp minor. The final section consists of a truncated version of the opening that brings the work to a quiet close.

Fantasie-Legende is scored for pairs of woodwinds, three horns in E, two trumpets in A, timpani, and strings. Its technical demands are minimal, but its melodies are beautifully shaped. It is an uncomplicated but satisfying work that serves well as an interlude between larger works or as an encore to a trombone concerto performance.