IN MEMORIAM: A CHORALE AFTER BRUCKNER FOR TROMBONE TRIO

Here is a description of the work IN MEMORIAM by composer Brian Pappal.

The work is appropriate for advanced performers. The first part includes the option of a tenor and an alto clef part.

In Memoriam: A Chorale After Bruckner was composed in memory of Murray Crewe, former Bass Trombonist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Murray was my private trombone teacher at Duquesne University where he maintained a large studio of private trombone students and directed the trombone choir. During my lessons with him and in trombone choir rehearsals, Murray was contagiously positive and encouraging with a sense of humor all his own. He was also an artist of immense depth and sensitivity who daily sought to create and encounter moments of beauty in the world.

Some of my greatest musical memories of Murray are of his leading the trombone choir in playing transcriptions of Bruckners choral motets. There are obvious parallels between the voice and the trombone, and Murrays artistry combined with Bruckners profound compositions created a deeply moving experience for me as a young musician. I wrote this piece with those memories in my mind. The sonorities are intentionally vocal, and performance of the piece should be approached in a similarly sustained and expressive style. The first trombone part remains rather high without rest; it may be played by either a tenor or alto trombone depending on player preference.

ÿListen below to a live performance of this glorious work from the April 2019 Schwob Trombone Ensemble concert beautifully played by Jasper Lin, Masa Ohtake, and Lovrick Gary.