The Art Of The Trombone Vol.1

The trombone stop on the pipe organ can produce one of its most powerful, strident and intimidating sounds, Like all the stops that take their name from orchestral instruments, and there are many, it caricatures only a single tone-colour of that instrument, in this case: low, reedy, penetrating, inexpressive and inevitably loud, If this recording were to be based on such a conception of the trombone it would be hard listening indeed.

By contrast, the trombone proper, in the hands of the right player, can be mellifluous, eloquent and expressive. The choice of music on this recording is designed to illustrate all these attributes, along with the instrument's flexibility and agility, qualities not always apparent when heard in its usual context of symphony orchestra or opera-house.

The trombone, like the organ, has always had an ecclesiastical association, from the fourteenth-century Messe de Notre Dame by Guillaume de Machaut, through Gabrieli, Mozart and Beethoven to the Grande Messe des Morts of Berlioz. These composers certainly would have combined the two instruments as part of a large ensemble, but not until the nineteenth century was it presented alongside the organ in solo concert works. Surprisingly few of these were of specifically sacred nature even though they would clearly receive most of their performances in church. Only two of the eight works included here, those of Liszt and Krol, have specifically religious titles.