Review

John Kenny
Sonata for Contrabass Trombone:

Coventry, , United Kingdom
Publisher: Warwick Music Publishers
Date of Publication: 2005
URL: http://www.warwickmusic.com

Score

Primary Genre: Solo Bass/Contrabass Trombone - unaccompanied

Commissioned and premiered by David Bobrof with the financial support of the International Trombone Association and the Scottish Arts Council, this solo for contrabass trombone is Kenny’s sixth sonata for unaccompanied trombone. Donated for review by Warwick Music, the first page can be viewed at the publisher’s website www.warwickmusic.com. Written to advocate the soloistic use of the contrabass trombone, this sonata is accessible to the advanced bass trombonist; it is a significant recital work. While range demands are impressive, spanning BBB-flat to d2, the altissimo register is used only briefly for effect at the end and could be played an octave lower.

Kenny’s compositional style balances between contemporary sonic explorations and lyrical reflective moments that draw from liturgical melodies of centuries and millennium past. A concise legend identifies and explains the extended techniques required (vocal/lip multiphonics, inhalation/exhalation sounds, mouthpiece whistle blowing, etc...). While vocal demands for multiphonics are minimal and carefully written for a comfortable baritone vocal register spanning d-flat-d1, the materials could be sung an octave higher by higher-voiced performers without dissolving the affect. If the lip multiphonics are problematic, I would treat them as vocal multiphonics. As microtonal notation is far from reaching a universally agreed upon standard, an explanation of the composer’s use of half sharp and reversed flat signs at the beginning of the third movement would be in keeping with the composers otherwise excellent explanations. In searching for any minutia to clarify an initial reading, the second movement contains a redundant three-two meter sign in the fifteenth measure and I would fill in the stemmed hollow triangle note head in the legend that indicates ‘slap tongue’ as there are no hollow triangle note heads in the music.

This sonata speaks to Kenny’s compositional prowess and nuanced understanding of the instrument. He has created a demanding and rewarding sonata that I hope is fully explored by contrabass and bass trombonists alike.

-Peter Fielding
36 Canadian Brigade Group (Nova Scotia) Band