David Mathie:  Brass Transcriptions
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Dr. David Mathie
Trombonist, Professor, Arranger

Picture


Brahms - Songs for Trombones

    1. O bone Jesu
    2. Adoramus te
    3. Ich schwing mein Horn ins Jammertal
    4. Freiwillige her!
    5. Geleit
    6. Marschieren
    7. Gebt acht!


Trombone Quartet/Choir

Difficulty Level:  High School through Professional
    1. All parts in bass clef
    2. Trombone 1 up to high Bb

    3. Freiwillige her! quite technical
    4. Trombone 4 part does not require a bass trombone

Published by Alessi Publications, Catalog Number ALPUB46



Click below to hear 1. O bone Jesu
Click below to hear 2. Adoramus te
Click below to hear 3. Ich schwinhg mein Horn ins Jammeral
Click below to hear 4. Freiwillige her!
Click below to hear 5. Geleit (performance by the Boise State University Trombone Choir)
Click below to hear 6. Marschieren

Click below to hear 7. Geb acht!


Click here to see the first page of a score

Click here to read the International Trombone Association Journal review of Brahms Songs for Trombones

Click here to buy the piece from Alessi Publications


ABOUT THE MUSIC

The early years of the nineteenth century were noted for music composed for educated
middle-class amateurs. In this genre we see the great chorus and orchestra works by
Mendelssohn and Schumann, piano pieces by Beethoven and Brahms, and the smaller
choral works of Schubert and Brahms, which were meant to be performed informally at
home. Brahms wrote a number of choral works for women's chorus, mixed chorus, and
men's chorus. The seven songs included here are from the Drei Geistliche Chöre (Three
Sacred Choruses), Op. 37, published in 1866 for four-part female chorus; and Fünf
Lieder für Männerchor (Five Songs for Men's Chorus), Op. 41, written in 1861-1862 and
published in 1867 for four-part men's chorus.

All transcriptions are taken from the complete works of Brahms (Johannes Brahms
Sämtliche Werke, Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden, 1965). The works included here are:

Opus 37:
O bone Jesu, liturgical text; original in F.
Adoramus te, liturgical text; original in a.

Opus 41:
Ich schwing mein Horn ins Jammertal, text is old German; original in B=.
Freiwillige her!, text by Lemcke; original in c.
Geleit, text by Lemcke; original in E=.
Marschieren, text by Lemcke; original in c.
Gebt acht!, text by Lemcke; original in c.

The third song in Op. 37, Regina coeli, is scored for two solo voices and women's chorus
and is not included here. All musical indications in the originals, such as dynamics and
articulations, are retained in these transcriptions; the translations from the original
German are mine. All editorial additions have been kept to a minimum and are clearly
marked: added slurs are written with dashes, and other musical suggestions have been
put in parentheses - (rit.) - to distinguish them from Brahms'. Tempo suggestions
indicated by metronome markings were added by me.

Given that Brahms' father was a horn player, it is not surprising that these works are
remarkably instrumental in nature. All dynamics are Brahms', but in general the
transcriptions sound better when played one level higher than marked.

Finally, although mature works that would fit on any trombonists' recital, these pieces are quite playable by a good high school quartet or choir.



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