Review

Paul Dukas
Fanfare from "La Péri":

Arranged by Randall Malmstrom

1 alto, 5 tenors (all in tenor clef), 2 basses

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2024
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 8 trombones

Fanfare from “La Péri” is a cherished concert opener for orchestras ranging from college groups to professional ensembles. Arranger Randall Malmstrom has taken Dukas’s spirited work, originally scored for full orchestral brass — tuba, trombones, horns, and trumpets — and crafted it into a wonderful eight-part trombone ensemble arrangement. French composer Paul Dukas wrote this brief two-minute fanfare for his one-act ballet La Péri in 1912.

This arrangement is scored for one alto trombone, five tenor trombones, one bass trombone, and one contrabass trombone, with the tenor parts written almost exclusively in tenor clef. This instrumentation and editorial choice make the arrangement best suited for an advanced college or professional ensemble. Though not particularly technically difficult, the piece requires coordinated multiple tonguing and a strong player comfortable on alto trombone. In a pinch, however, the alto part could be played on tenor, as its range sits comfortably and rises only to c2. The contrabass trombone part is quite low and demanding, with extended passages in the pedal register and a low point of DD-flat.

This work is well worth the effort for advanced ensembles seeking something familiar, yet recast in a distinctive trombone-only timbral soundscape.

Fanfare from “La Péri” was donated for review by Cherry Classics Music and is available at www.CherryClassics.com.  Combined instrument range: DD-flat to c2.