Holst, Schiffman, Hšser, Guilmant, Liszt, Krol, Belcke & Genzmer

The trombone and organ duo represents an interesting marriage of the simplest and most complex of wind instruments. After co-existing for several centuries in church music it seems appropriate that their coupling should eventually inspire a certain number of concert works, sacred and secular.

Our rating

5

Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:17 pm

COMPOSERS: Belcke & Genzmer,Guilmant,Holst,Höser,Krol,Liszt,Schiffman
LABELS: Naxos
ALBUM TITLE: Collection: The Art of the Trombone
WORKS: Works by Holst, Schiffman, Höser, Guilmant, Liszt, Krol, Belcke & Genzmer
PERFORMER: Alain Trudel (trombone), Patrick Wedd (organ)
CATALOGUE NO: 8.553716

The trombone and organ duo represents an interesting marriage of the simplest and most complex of wind instruments. After co-existing for several centuries in church music it seems appropriate that their coupling should eventually inspire a certain number of concert works, sacred and secular. The repertoire is drawn from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries and Trudel proves an ardent advocate of it all: the frothy salon music of Höser and Belcke, the slightly desperate trawling from the Liszt and Holst archives and, most rewardingly, the thoughtful and solidly crafted pieces of the modern Germans, Schiffman, Krol and Genzmer. The organ is of the keyboard family but is arguably the ultimate wind instrument. It has a wide range of quasi-orchestral colours that one could reasonably expect to easily outshine the limited tonal spectrum of the trombone. This is not the case here, where Trudel fully exploits the advantages his simple instrument has over the more colourful but less spontaneous organ: those of personality, expression and nuance. Organist Patrick Wedd provides the perfect foil. The recording enhances the contrast between the two instruments perfectly, with the trombone well forward and the organ enjoying the church acoustic but without loss of clarity. Christopher Mowat

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