Review

Felix Mendelssohn
Song Without Words Volume Three: for Trombone and Piano

Arranged by Ralph Sauer


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

Piano score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Felix Mendelssohn's Songs without Words is a collection of 48 short lyrical pieces for solo piano, composed between 1829 and 1845 — 8 opuses with six songs in each. These pieces are nestled in the nexus between program and absolute music. Mendelssohn wrote, “Words seem to me so ambiguous, so vague, so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music, which fills the soul with a thousand things better than words.” Mendelssohn intended these songs to serve not as concert repertoire, but rather in the words of one writer as “household possessions.” Their simple yet profound expressiveness has delighted generations of music lovers.

In this publication, Ralph Sauer transcribes six contrasting songs assembled from across the various opuses. Most are in their original keys. The trombone part contains the melody and the piano part the accompanying music.

I. Opus 53, No. 1 Andante con moto. This song is in pastoral meter of 12/8 and features a smooth and graceful melody that flows over a delicate, arpeggiated accompaniment. Although not technically difficult, it requires sustained, sensitive playing.

II. Opus 102, No. 4 Un poco agitato, ma andante. Here the piano provides a restless sixteenth note accompaniment of broken chords and octaves for the agitated, somewhat gloomy trombone melody. The chief technical difficulty comes in the transitional passage midway through the song. Four times the trombone part leaps up to high b-flat1 and finally descends with a sixteenth note passage that transitions back to the main melody.

III. Opus 38, No. 1 Con moto. Sauer transposes this song up one step from its original key to F major. This melody is more optimistic and consists of gracious, descending lines in 12/8 time above a constant triplet accompaniment.

IV. Opus 38, No. 2, Allegro non troppo. This song is more technically difficult, featuring constant eighth and sixteenth note motion. The more turbulent central section rises to a c2.

V. Opus 53, no. 4 Adagio provides a slower contrast to the previous four. The opening melody is poignant above repeated chords in the piano part. Dramatic moments follow, distinguished by a leap of a 9th from A to b-flat1 in the solo part.

VI. Opus 19b, No. 3 Molto allegro e vivace. This is from Mendelssohn’s first collection of Songs Without Words and is the most difficult of the set. The introduction begins with dramatic 16th note arpeggios in 6/8 meter. The main theme includes rapidly moving eighth notes with dotted eighth sixteenth note triplets interspersed. The trombone part frequently ascends to high b-natural1.

This marks Sauer’s third set of transcriptions from Songs Without Words. It is a helpful addition to our repertoire. The winsome melodies will allow performers to demonstrate the singing side of the trombone and display their musical sensitivity. I recently had a student perform several of these songs. Deciding how to appropriately interpret the songs provided many teachable moments.