Jonathon Santore
The Insoluble Persists:
Richfield, NC, United States
Publisher: Gold Branch Music
Date of Publication: 2005
Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano
The Insoluble Persists:
Richfield, NC, United States
Publisher: Gold Branch Music
Date of Publication: 2005
Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano
The Insoluble Persists creates space and integration in a rondo-like fashion. Composer Santore pits the two voices against one another, has them complement each other, and utilizes cadenzas and solo passages in an eight-minute expanse of high energy. Propulsive ostinati in the piano create a springboard for the trombone to romanticize and embellish melodic fragments. These phrases, while somewhat predictable, are independent enough to maintain a textural and tonal distance from the piano. This disparity, heightened by an unusually high tessitura in the piano part, is occasionally resolved through comfortable harmonic progressions, only to be deflected again by two trombone cadenzas. The Insoluble Persists is worthy of repeated hearings, yet it is accessible on an initial presentation because of its bold statements and organic progression. The music is not especially technically demanding, although the trombone part ranges from C-sharp to b2. Santore, Professor at Plymouth State University (NH), poses an impressive, stylized version of the question that remains unresolved. -Joel Elias Sacramento State University