"Magnificent Beast of the Garden" for Bass Trombone and Piano

[RobertBomar]

Hi everyone,

Here's a piece for bass trombone and piano that I've written recently. As a student, I'd love to have some outside perspective on how I can improve my craft, as well as on what you would like to see more or less of in solo and chamber works as fellow trombonists. Audio in the video is generated by NotePerformer 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA9whNeOIKw

Best,
Robert

[heldenbone]

Hi everyone,

Here's a piece for bass trombone and piano that I've written recently. As a student, I'd love to have some outside perspective on how I can improve my craft, as well as on what you would like to see more or less of in solo and chamber works as fellow trombonists. Audio in the video is generated by NotePerformer 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA9whNeOIKw

Best,
Robert

Is there a programmatic element you might share?

[RobertBomar]

Nothing that's written down for now, aside from the title itself; here's a rough play-by-play of what I was thinking.

The piece is based on contrast, with a massive and terrifying beast roaming about an unending beautiful garden. The very beginning is written around exploring the garden in peace, only to be abruptly interrupted by a sighting of the monster (the end of m. 28 was meant to sound like the initial reaction to spotting it, turning to speechlessness and followed by the beast's booming footsteps). The next section ("Tense") attempts to portray hiding from the beast and waiting for it to pass by, fearful of being found with rising tension as it approaches closer. The last bits of the piece are the processing of previous events, attempting to move forward with the knowledge of the beast's existence nearby, a blotch on the otherwise unchanged land. The ending (beginning m. 73) best exemplifies this feeling, with the beauty of the garden represented in the piano underscored by familiar low tones, quiet and far away.

[heldenbone]

Thank you. I wish I was a better player. I would contemplate programming this if I was.

[jonathanharker]

Here's a piece for bass trombone and piano that I've written recently. As a student, I'd love to have some outside perspective on how I can improve my craft, as well as on what you would like to see more or less of in solo and chamber works as fellow trombonists. Audio in the video is generated by NotePerformer 3.

Cool piece! One tiny comment is that the semiquaver leap between bars 32-33 from G♭₂ to pedal F₁ at accented fortissimo, as well as the very long B♭₀ at the end, could be asking a lot of a bass trombone; it would fit very nicely on an F contrabass though.