Review

Malcolm Forsyth
These Cloud-Capp'd Towers: Concert Piece for Trombone & Orchestra:

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

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with orchestra

This is a two movement work that taxes the trombonist's range, FF-sharp to f2, and technical abilities. The opening movement features an ostinato accompaniment that pervades the texture, sometimes to the work's detriment. The work becomes more intense as double-tonguing and trills are added above the sparse accompaniment. However, the hyperactivity of the solo seems at odds with its placid counterpart; the lingering melancolico creates ennui and disassociation rather than intimacy and access. 

The second movement is full of uneven rhythmic clashes and free-flowing melodic outbursts.  Forsyth skillfully frames the solo to create tension and anticipation, and the fast-paced ostinato heightens the agitation rather than dimming the proceedings. A lengthy virtuosic cadenza, which includes a section in free time, challenges the soloist to maintain a grip on the rapid-fire exchanges. 

Forsyth, born in South Africa, was bass trombonist in the Edmonton Symphony. This piece was commissioned by the Prince George Symphony Orchestra in British Columbia and was written for Alain Trudel. The title references Shakespeare's play, The Tempest. Forsyth has produced a major concerto that is quite impactful in this reduction; the full version should prove even more so.

-Joel Elias
California State University, Sacramento