Review

Marco Bordogni
Melodious Etudes #41-50:

Arranged by Ran Whitley

Trombone Quartet: 3 tenor, 1 bass trombone

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2021
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts.

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 4 trombones

Ever since Joannès Rochut transcribed them, the vocalises of Italian operatic tenor Marco Bordogni can be found in many trombone teaching studios throughout the world. Originally written with piano accompaniment, Ran Whitley has been busy composing trombone quartet arrangements of these beautiful melodies. Melodius Etudes #41–50 is the fourth and most recent volume in this set.

Bordogni’s original melodies are almost exclusively written into the first trombone part for each of these quartets. Since these melodies are primarily diatonic in nature, one might expect simpler patterns in the other parts similar to Bordogni’s original piano accompaniments. While the fourth trombone part tends to play simpler bass patterns, the inner parts tend to be more contrapuntal with countermelodies similar in range and figuration to the melodic material in the first trombone part.

All the parts are written in bass clef and set in the same keys as the original Rochut transcriptions. As a result, these quartets should prove to be widely accessible to any who have studied Bordogni. To those of us who are used to playing these melodies either monophonically or with the original piano accompaniments, these arrangements may feel like a significant departure musically from how many of us tend to interpret Bordogni. The counterpoint at times is quite active—so much that the melody could potentially feel lost within the texture. While controversial to some of us, these are widely accessible trombone quartets that should prove to be a lot of fun to read together with friends.