In 1880, Edvard Grieg arranged two songs from his Op. 33, “Twelve Songs after poems by Vinje” for string orchestra and entitled it “Two Elegiac Melodies”. Grieg’s lush romantic orchestrations of both “Wounded Heart” and “The Last Spring” take advantage of the large range and many colour possibilities of the string orchestra while still preserving the strong vocal character of the melodies. All of the original articulation markings and phrasing from Grieg’s score for strings are retained in the trombone parts, in an effort to evoke bowings and pizzicatos from the brass articulation. Also, mutes and textural variety are employed to simulate Grieg’s registral shifts and contrasts of orchestration.
Taylor Donaldson is a trombonist, composer and arranger living in Montreal, Canada. He holds a Masters degree in Music (Trombone Performance) from The Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal. Taylor maintains an active performing schedule and writes for a variety of ensembles including big band, trombone ensemble, classical chamber ensemble, jazz and rock bands, symphonic brass choir and symphony orchestra.
