Review

Drake Mabry
9.28.85 pour Trombone ténor-basse:

Paris, , France
Publisher: Editions Musicales Européennes
Date of Publication: 1995
Language: English, French

Manuscript and typeset scores

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - unaccompanied

The American oboist and composer, Drake Mabry, has contributed to a variety of art forms, including painting, poetry, instrument design, improvisation and composition.  Educated in America, his past teachers include Harold Gomberg, Krysztof Penderecki, and John Cage. He has lived in France since 1988. His diverse background and wide ranging artistic palette are evident in this work, titled for the date of composition.  Commissioned for and premiered by Benny Sluchin of Pierre Boulez’ Ensemble InterContemporain, this work is highly recommended for performers and educators alike.  Composed and subsequently edited in close collaboration with Mr. Sluchin, this piece explores new ways to create musical sounds with the F attachment trombone.

The ITA received two versions of this work for review; an original copy published by the composer by hand in 1985 and a typeset copy published by EME in 1995. The 1995 edition features improved legibility, printed instructions in French and English, a larger format, an optional second movement and a third movement that did not appear in the original. The 1995 edition is the subject of this review.

This delightful work explores tonal, rhythmic and technical possibilities for the trombone with F attachment, utilizing various multiphonic techniques, various articulations, non-pitched effects, and alterations to the instrument itself, such as replacing the F attachment tubing with a straight pipe to the rear. It offers a wealth of interest to performers and teachers. Clear instructions abound providing concise guidance in interpreting the examples of non-standard notation.

Curiously, the explanation given for the alternate second movement occurs only in French, though all other instructions are given in French and English. Also, a typesetting error occurs in the second movement (an A-natural with E-flat multiphonic is indicated at the end of the first line, but it should have been printed as A-flat). These anomalies aside, the composition itself stands as a worthy contribution to the repertoire that should be enjoyed for its various merits on the concert stage as well as in the teaching studio.

-Bradley J. Payne
Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra