Review

Malcom Forsyth
Quartet ’74:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 1978 / 2004
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 4 trombones

Malcom Forsyth’s Quartet ’74 is a three movement work for trombone quartet written in a tonal language with an energetic, rhythmic style. Shifting meters are employed through the work in a well integrated and fluent fashion. There are plenty of solo passages for all parts throughout the highly articulated outer movements and the singing middle movement. This well constructed piece is a nice addition to the literature. The work is well within the reach of a reasonably advanced undergraduate quartet, a good recital piece. Range extends from pedal FF in the bass trombone part to high c2 in the first part. The contrapuntal style also provides enough breaks in the upper parts to avoid stress and fatigue. The exercise of mastering its metric shifts is enough reason to program the work. Printing is excellent and the parts are laid out well, a good addition to any college library.

-Andrew Glendening
University of Redlands