Bass Trombone and Piano

with Piano

When commissioned to compose The Kleinhammer Sonata for bass trombone and piano, the launch of the project coincided with the passing of one of the great icons of the low brass world, longtime Chicago Symphony Orchestra bass trombonist Edward Kleinhammer. The members of the consortium and I were in complete agreement that it would be most appropriate to dedicate this work to him. I only met Ed once, but like all low brass players of my generation, I grew up revering his playing and all he did to raise the profile of the bass trombone as an important instrument in its own right. I consider it to be a particularly special honor to be asked to compose a work in his memory.

As with my earlier sonatas, this work is in the classic fast-slow-fast, three movement form, and is very much a chamber work for bass trombone and piano, rather than being a solo with piano accompaniment. The goal of all my brass sonatas is to portray the capabilities of power, beauty, agility and musicality of the brass instrument in dialogue with a piano part that is interesting and meaningful to the mood of the work beyond just an accompanying role. Music for me is about color, texture, mood, motion, emotion, direction, and, above all, the energy created through the creation and release of tension. There is one particular element of writing for the bass trombone that separates this work from the others. While the other brass instruments, even the tuba, often create their most climactic moments by soaring into the upper register, a bass trombonist (like a bass vocalist) is anxious to show off the low end of the idiomatic range. I endeavored to keep that in mind as I created the moods and energies of this work.

The first movement has a slow introduction that serves to introduce the sound and color of the bass trombone in juxtaposition with the high end of the piano. This leads to an Allegro with a great deal of rhythmic drive (typical of my music) that features primarily the power and agility of the bass trombone. The energy continues to build until the pace slows to a solo trombone cadenza (like a monologue in a play) that precedes the most energetic (perhaps even manic) section of the movement. A return to some of the opening material brings the movement to a slow and soft conclusion that serves as a bridge to the next movement.

The second movement is the portion of the piece most directly associated with the dedication to Edward Kleinhammer. I was made aware that one of his very favorite orchestral works was Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (The Resurrection), so I elected to use material from that work for this memorial part of the sonata. In the short, fourth movement of his symphony, Mahler employed an alto vocalist singing a beautiful song from Das Knaben Wunderhorn, the text of which illuminates the longing for relief from worldly woes. It seemed appropriate to use this vocal line, with a number of small rhythmic alterations, as the basis for this movement. I even kept it in the original, somber key of Db major. Using original keys is rarely a concern for me, but in this case it seemed ideally suited to the right sound and mood for the bass trombone. The piano “accompaniment” is completely different, and very unlike the Mahler, resulting in a kind of “fantasy” on the Wunderhorn song. It is my hope that the music is perceived as having a simple reverence and recollective nature with a solemn quality to honor Ed’s passing, yet a beauty to celebrate his life.

The third movement is intended to create an energetic, agile, fast-paced finale that relentlessly brings the work home in exciting fashion. Once again, there is a pause for a trombone cadenza prior to the last hurrah. This solo passage reiterates the opening material of the first movement. In addition to that being a structural component of the work, it is also intended as a reminder of the cyclical nature of life. Though Ed Kleinhammer is no longer with us, his personal and musical legacy lives on.

with Piano

“For many centuries, large stone figures have brought up more questions than answers about the life of the ancient times in which they were created. Monolith for bass trombone explores and in some cases fantasizes one of those theories. In the piece, the bass trombone represents the large mysterious figure and gives insight to what it has seen over its many centuries of standing watch.”

This piece was commissioned by and dedicated to Jose Leonardo Leon to be premiered at the 2013 National Trombone Week festival in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

– Alejandro Guardia Jr.

with Piano

These settings for bass trombone of the Marcello sonatas for cello follow my similar arrangements of the bassoon sonatas by Johann Ernst Galliard (1687-1747), which were published by Potenza Music in 2014. The impetus for these projects was a perceived need for more "intermediate-early advanced" solo literature for the bass trombone, as well as more settings of Baroque-period works for that instrument. While the sonatas are playable on the bass trombone in their original keys, by setting them in lower keys I have endeavored to make them useful for developing tone quality and technique in the low and valve registers, while not going so low that clarity and facility might be compromised. The new keys for each of the sonatas are closely related to the original ones, in every case down a perfect fourth or perfect fifth, so something of the "sound" of the original keys is maintained. These new keys are also quite suitable for the bass tuba and might be especially useful for players just learning the F or E-flat instrument.

- Micah Everett

with Piano

These settings of the Galliard bassoon sonatas grew out of a perceived need for more “intermediate-early advanced” solo literature for the bass trombone, as well as more settings of Baroque-period works for that instrument. While the sonatas are playable on the bass trombone in their original keys (whether at pitch or down one octave), by setting them in lower keys I have endeavored to make them useful for developing tone quality and technique in the valve register, while not going so low that clarity and facility might be compromised (as can be the case when playing in the original keys down one octave). The new keys I have chosen for each of the sonatas are closely related to the original ones, in every case down a perfect fourth or perfect fifth, so something of the “sound” of the original keys is maintained. Other than the key changes I have made very few adjustments to the intervals in the solo or left hand keyboard parts; in the places where I have done the most editing I have provided cues for the original intervals and/or rhythms so that the player can choose whether to perform the simplified part I have provided or something closer to the original.

The new keys (as well as copyright considerations) necessitated that I provide entirely new figured bass realizations for the accompanist’s right hand. These are entirely my own, though in the early stages of this project I did consult with Professor Stacy Rodgers, my colleague and collaborator at the University of Mississippi. I have provided more than a simple harmonic accompaniment in my realization; each movement has a number of short melodic passages to provide interest in the keyboard part for both performer and listener. Still, I have been purposefully reserved in writing these parts, and in no case should the keyboardist feel obligated to strictly adhere to the part as I have written it. I have left the figured bass in the score so that the performer can modify and/or build upon what I have provided, particularly in the repeats (as Professor Rodgers did when playing and recording one of the sonatas with me). I have labeled the accompaniment part simply as “keyboard” with the understanding that these sonatas were originally intended for performance with harpsichord (assisted by cello or bassoon) or organ, though I am sure that the vast majority of performances of these arrangements will have piano as the accompanying instrument. My “keyboard” part has thus been written with that instrument in mind. If performing with harpsichord assisted by cello or bassoon those players will need to make adjustments in places where the bass lines extend below the ranges of their instruments.

While I am confident that my right hand part is a faithful realization of the harmonic structure indicated by the composer, no attempt has been made either in my keyboard realization or in my light editing of the solo part to adhere to present scholarly conventions regarding the interpretation of “early music.” I have constructed these arrangements to meet the needs of twenty-first-century student (and professional) bass trombonists, and thus I have provided the interpretive markings which I believe will yield the most pleasing performances on that instrument. That said, I have sought to be modest in my indications of tempo, dynamics, articulation, and ornamentation, as these sonatas will admit varying interpretations in those respects. Performers and teachers are welcome and encouraged to experiment in order to find the interpretations which they think most effective.

Although I originally created these arrangements with the bass trombone in mind, I am sure that they will work equally well on tuba. Due to range considerations similar to those I mentioned above for the bass trombone, they might be particularly better-suited to performance on the F or E-flat tubas than previous editions of these sonatas. I am looking forward to using these arrangements with my students on both instruments, and hope that others will find them useful, as well.

with Piano

Written in 2011 for Friedrich Ventura, Sonata en Fa menor Iberia is in three movements, and is full of great lyricism and colorful effects based in the raw and unprepared harmony with touches of bitonality, and noted especially for its Spanish character.

Trombone or Bass Trombone and Piano

Named to the 2017 ITA Solo and Ensemble Competitions Repertoire