Cades Cove: ,
Publisher: C. Sharpe Editions
Date of Publication: 2020
URL: http://www.CSharpeEditions.com
Two separate scores
Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - unaccompanied
Secondary Genre: Solo Bass/Contrabass Trombone - unaccompanied
Dr. Christopher Sharpe is currently serving as Visiting Assistant Professor of Trombone at Murray State University. He holds DMA and MM degrees in Trombone Performance from the University of North Texas and a BM in Trombone Performance and Music Education from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Sharpe’s performance experience includes performances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Opera Orchestra, three years with the GRAMMY-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band, and performances with solo artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Doc Severinsen, Wycliffe Gordon, and James Morrison. He can be heard on recordings with the One O’Clock Lab Band, the Keith Karns Big Band, the Toshi Clinch Big Band, and Natalie Mannix. Also an accomplished composer and arranger, his works are available for purchase through his publishing company, C. Sharpe Editions. His arrangement of Eric Ewazen's A Hymn for the Lost and the Living for 12 trombones is published through Keiser Southern Music and can be purchased through Hal Leonard Music. The composer wrote the following about this work: Cades Cove is located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and my family would often make the drive from nearby Oak Ridge, TN, to spend a weekend day picnicking by a stream, driving through Cades Cove looking for black bears, and enjoying the beautiful mountain terrain. I highly encourage any performer of this work to visit Cades Cove at once in their life, or to at least do a quick internet search of photos and videos from Cades Cove if unable to travel to East Tennessee anytime soon. Cades Cove was written in June of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This piece is the composer’s attempt to musically portray the feeling of being homesick and having fond memories of a cherished place while stuck hundreds of miles away. For this review, two versions were submitted - one for bass trombone and one for tenor trombone. The musical material is the same, only the ranges are changed. This is a 5-minute study in legato and lyrical playing. There is a variety of tempi and dynamics. Rhythms are basic; melodic material and harmonies are conservatively tonal. The performer must have good control over a wide dynamic and tonal range. The composer performs the bass trombone version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN-OH_gkUIg
Review Published December 27, 2023