Trombone

Sing-Übung is the name given by Michael Massong to his debut recital on MDG, and the title contains a program: lyrical pieces, in large part especially arranged for this CD, display a vocal quality of trombone playing that is without its equal. The selection of works also holds some surprises in store: Rachmaninov's famous "Vocalise," the fine emotion of Carl Maria von Weber's "Romanze," and Franz Liszt's Romance oubliée," in which Michael Massong teases previously unheard-of vocal expressive depth out of his instrument. The prizewinning horn player Premysl Vojta performs the duo part in "Singübung," the title work by Franz Schubert, and in the four duets by Johannes Brahms.

This second volume of Trombone Travels (Volume 1 is on 8574093) continues with Matthew Gee’s exploration of three great cycles of early 20th-century British song. Elgar’s Sea Pictures evoke lullaby and turbulence alike, Vaughan Williams’s Songs of Travel chart a wanderer’s lonely journey through the landscape, and in Songs of the Sea Stanford’s music embraces both the sombre and the exhilarating, with Gee joined by a trombone chorus to emulate the male voice choir. Throughout the recital Gee lavishes colouristic effects, the use of mutes, and subtle inflections that reinforce the trombone’s unique ability to mimic vocal techniques.