Review

Tilman Susato
Die Schlacht: for Trombone Quartet or Choir and Tenor Drum

Arranged by David Fetter

4 tenors (opt. bass), tenor drum

Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2023
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 4 trombones

Susato was a Dutch/Flemish composer born c.1510 near Cologne in Germany, and died sometime after 1570, possibly in Sweden. This piece, comprising three sections of eight measures, each of them repeated, was composed in Antwerp in 1551 for two opposing consorts of viols and crumhorns. The earliest known trombones were appearing at this time, and Susato is known to have played trombone as well as other instruments in Antwerp’s town band.

This arrangement is for three tenor trombones and bass trombone; all parts are given in bass clef. It has a key signature of two flats, and is in the Dorian Mode on C. The piece falls into three distinct sections each of eight measures repeated, and gathering momentum throughout. In the first section, note values are half and quarter notes, in the second section quarters and eighths, and in the third section eighths and sixteenths. All in the same measure in the first section, there are two accidental flattened 6ths (A-flats) and an augmented 4th chord with a sharpened 3rd (E). Was this the composer being adventurous and pushing the boundaries of the by then 300 year-old modal system, or are they copyists’ mistakes ?

Despite its apparent simplicity, this is a very interesting piece, and is well-suited to the trombone ensemble. Range for 1st Trombone is f-f1 and for Trombone 4 is BB-flat - d.

David Fetter taught at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore from 1970 to 2016 and has long been active as a trombone soloist and ensemble player.