Review

Gabriel Fauré
“Les Berceaux” from Trois melodies Op.23, No.1:

Arranged by Jason Beghtol


Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2010
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Piano score and solo part

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

We trombone players should frequent more vocal recitals; newly exposed vocal repertoire that works well on our instrument is always welcome.  In this instance, Jason Beghtol, assistant band director, jazz band director and professor of brass at Northeast Mississippi Community College, brings Gabriel Fauré’s “Les Berceaux” to the fore. Coming from the collection of one the most beloved art song composers, the simplicity of the melody and of the phrase structures make this an excellent choice for a young trombonist developing musical maturity. The range of the work, A-flat to f1, makes it accessible to high school level trombonists. 

The transcription retains the original key of B-flat minor taken down one octave.  All features are identical to the original with the exception, of course of being placed in bass clef.  However, tessitura is an issue here.  Bringing the original melody down the octave puts it into a range of the trombone that has the potential to sound too “woofy.”  If the melody were transposed down only a minor sixth, the new key would be D minor with a slightly higher range of c to a1, still within the reach of an advanced high school trombonist. Also, as is standard practice, the text is removed. However, why is this standard practice?  If the goal is to reflect the text in performance, shouldn’t the text or an accurate translation be provided? The text furnishes the information about how to phrase, where to breathe and even how to articulate.  As is, the work still serves as an excellent gateway into the study of vocal repertoire performance.

-Cory Mixdorf
University of Arkansas