Review

Malcolm Forsyth
Eclectic Altos with Pokerbass:
three alto trombones and G bass trombone

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

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 4 trombones

This is a curious, staged work for three alto trombones and G bass trombone. The piece opens with the bass trombonist dressed in Hutterite garb. Hutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists like the Amish, and they believe in absolute pacifism, a basic tenet that has rubbed governments the wrong way – they have been persecuted and banished from several countries over the centuries. Anyway, after initial equipment problems, a missing slide handle, and the too-short arm of a helpful trombonist, the problem is audibly hammered out offstage, leading to the successful performance by the bass trombonist of an ostinato figure that is heard throughout the work.

The remaining two alto players, one dressed as an English schoolboy and the other in clown’s wig and long shoes, now enter. The three altos perform as a unit, always in unison rhythm over the ostinato bass. Because of the rhythmic unpredictability and diversity of the work, the resultant harmonies change constantly. The use of glissandi, syncopation, and vibrato are idiomatic, organic, and captivating. The piece will make an excellent encore or showcase for gifted alto trombonists.

-Joel Elias
California State University, Sacramento