Review

Georg Philipp Telemann
Three Viol Fantasias:

Arranged by Ralph Sauer

Solo trombone

Vancouver, BC, , Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2018
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - unaccompanied

Telemann’s Twelve Fantaisias for Viola da Gamba solo was published in 1735, but was only recently rediscovered in 2015 by world renowned gambist, Thomas Fritzsch. The set was self-published by Telemann and was an addition to his other collections of music written for unaccompanied instruments. This transcription for trombone by Ralph Sauer includes the first, second, and fifth of these twelve fantasias.

Mr. Sauer’s transcriptions are extremely well edited to fit the trombone while still retaining the essence of the urtext edition. To aid the performer, he has written new slur and phrase markings in addition to the occasional suggested forte and piano dynamic markings. All three fantasias are written primarily in tenor clef and stay mostly within the middle to upper range of the instrument. Younger players looking to become familiar with this style of music will find these fantasias a good starting place. These pieces will make an excellent addition to any junior or senior collegiate level recital, either alone or as a set of three. More accomplished performers will enjoy these as well because of Mr. Sauer’s idiomatic transcriptions and the depth of character found in the original compositions. Trombonists looking to perform one or all of these transcriptions should listen to recent recordings made by gambists Thomas Fritzsch and Robert Smith.