TROMBONLY & SOLOISTS

Hochschule für Musik, Detmold/Heinz Fadle

Review by Dudley Bright, London Symphony Orchestra

Trombonly & SoloistsIf, like me, your acquaintance with the German school of trombone playing is sketchy, this disc will be most welcome. Shamefully, if asked to name a German trombone player or teacher, I could only come up with the name of Heinz Fadle. Which is probably just as well since he is the guiding light behind this trombone choir named Trombonly, an ensemble of past and present students from Detmold's Hochschule für Musik where Heinz is professor of trombone. He has impeccable credentials such as having been principal trombonist of the Hamburg Philharmonic, a member of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and a guest with numerous other prestigious German orchestras. He has been president of both the indigenous (Internationale Posaunenvereinigung) and international trombone associations (International Trombone Association) and is author of several pedagogical publications

This CD features the group and six different soloists in a wide range of repertoire from Bach to Wills, Tommy Pedersen to Bobby Lamb. Although probably representative of trombone playing in Germany these days, the participants hail from many parts of the world. Chai Jung Tsai from Taiwan, who studied in Detmold and is now the principal of the orchestra in Taipei, is soloist in Toccata by Frescobaldi and Laszlo Pete (Hungary), the first trombonist in the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lübeck who received his Concert-Diploma in Detmold, features in James Kazik's many faceted Sanctuary.

The most extensive work is the Concertino by Ferdinand David. This should be of interest to anyone who may have aspirations to take any audition in Europe where this old war-horse is almost exclusively the set piece. The fact that it is also played by Olaf Ott, the Berlin Philharmonic's fine principal trombonist, should give some useful pointers. Fortunately your audition would be unlikely to be accompanied by this ensemble. Although it is a pretty impressive sounding accompaniment (dispensing with most of the semiquaver runs), it sets the soloist a pretty tough task to stand out against this wash of trombone sound. It really is fairly routine until you reach the last movement when the accompanists are suddenly required to increase their range, and as if not to be outdone the soloist impressively jumps up the octave and saves the performance.

At the other end of the spectrum are two very fine bass trombone soloists: Ben van Dijk in Ilja Reijngoud's A Beautiful Day and Ingo Luis underpinning his own swinging Low Motion. Both players exhibit a full, luscious, resonant sound; van Dijk in particular brings to mind the luminously colourful sound of the late Ray Premru, whose co-director of the Bobby Lamb/Ray Premru Big Band has a close relationship with this group. Bobby conducts two of the twelve tracks and appears as composer of Dance Number 1. His extraction is obvious in this Irish gigue which effortlessly glides into a blues graced by soloist, Canadian Ian McDougall.

This recording is trombones from beginning to end. Not a tuba, kit drum or bass trumpet in earshot and McDougall's plunger mute the only brief adulteration to the pure rich sound of this group - hence their title. Well, that's not quite true. The players themselves are required by our own Simon Wills to clap, stamp and slap thighs in his extremely satisfying A Breach of the Peace. Described in the CD's informative and copious booklet (in German and English) as one of his masterpieces, the Breach begins simply with alternating bottom G and A blending into a melancholic folksong type melody leading to a passage of merging unrelated triads. A look back at the folk song is interrupted by the aforesaid body percussion accompanying a kind of Scottish reel. The climax of the work breaks out in a peal of bells and what seems like a half-remembered Scarborough Fair before subsiding into nostalgia for the opening music.

If for nothing else, this album is worthwhile for this final track: a finely balanced structure with not a note wasted, played, as is the whole CD, with finesse, good balance and taste. The sound, always rich and warm with impeccable ensemble, is set in an ambient yet focused recorded acoustic. Professor Fadle with his students and colleagues are to be congratulated on this project and thanked for providing us with such a good example of the Art of German trombone choir.

CD Info:
Hochschule für Musik Detmold, Tondokumente Vol. 10

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