THREE PIECES FOR UNACCOMPANIED TROMBONE

Editor's Note:

This early work, written in 1965 when Briece was twenty years old, ambles in and out of tonality playfully and quite irreverently. The first movement, Improvisation, blends rhythmic fragments and interjections with descending melodic ideas. Abrupt dynamic changes and phase-shifting syncopations develop the material. The second movement, Introspection, begins with long phrases in 7/4; the same phrases, in the latter half of the movement, are pulled apart into 4/4 with richer dynamic coloring. The third movement, Impromptu, scatters quick-moving rhythms across 5/8 meter. A central interlude allows the trombone to sing in longer melodic lines.

 - Henry Gale