Ferdinand Davids Trombone Concerto - Essay Example

After a brief hop at the sixteenth note, the triplet should drive through directly to the arrival note. The motivic rhythm reappears in measures 46, 48, 102-106, and beyond the first movement. Once the initial motif is past, the entire statement (measures 42-65) is also important to emphasize for the audience. The poetic pairing found in measures 44-47, and then again in measures 48-51, is one of the key elements that must be inflected, and then followed up effectively in the dramatic resolution found in measures 52-55.

This is a good microcosm of the dramatic builds to be found in the work, and the half notes in measure 52 are one excellent place to build dramatic value. Vibrato is one way to accomplish this, but a solid drive through the air column is also crucial here. The grand opening then takes place between measures 60 and 83. The first four measures of this should be played with a significant amount of verve and vigor to lend a sense of heroic drama. Measures 64-67 remind the listener of your opening passage, and so a definite sense of sweep and flow is important at this point.

In measure 68, a definite development begins, and so dropping slightly in dynamics before entering the measure will give more energy to the later crescendo build; one of the most effective ways to snatch the attention of the audience is to drop the dynamic before beginning a slow build. This crescendo should reach its boiling point in measures 72 and 73, with the flourish in G-flat major. These two measures can be performed with some license as to the rhythm, because of the dramatic power.

As this first section of the opening ends, in measures 76-82, it is important to pay special attention to the dotted eighth notes. Accents and marcato may well be called for here, as long as the tongue stays out of the tone's way. The diminuendos here can definitely be musical and technical assets. What one might term a cantilena then comes, from measures 83-102. Grove's Dictionary of Music defines cantilena as a "flowing melodious phrase of vocal character." It comes from the Italian, meaning "little song.

" This is a point in the piece that permits the performer really to let loose with the lyrical side of the trombone. The piano dynamic here should be taken to its metaphorical extremes. Piano here does not necessarily just mean quieter, but conveying a sensual sort of softness to the listener. How would a fur coat feel How would a warm blanket feel These are the sorts of ideas that the trombone should convey to the audience at this point. This should be combined with the dolce mood. The meaning here, of course, is "sweet," but that is a word that has numerous connotations.

For the purposes of this performance, the sweetness that comes in romantic attachments would be a good mood to consider while playing this section, or the sweetness that comes from a conversation with a young child. The phrase marks should not be read as dividing these first four measures into separate phrases, but four ideas within the same phrase. The phrase marks should bring lucidity and charm to the longer musical idea of the four measures, rather than dividing the idea into artificial chunks.

The "d" in 4th comes in handy here in measures 94, 95, and 99. In measure 94 it can help smooth out the slur,