Ancient Scenes for Bass Trombone and Piano

Ancient Scenes for Bass Trombone and Piano was composed for and commissioned by the Bass Trombone virtuoso Jonathan Warburton.

During the year I was composing this work for bass trombone, I was reviewing some picture of a past vacation to Greece. Then, I started thinking how the sound of the bass trombone is often described as a "big block of sound," (like the big blocks of stone in the massive ancient temples.) Furthermore, (with the performance practice on historic natural horns excepted:, the modern trombone is arguably the modern brass instrument that  is played more in the manner of its ancient ancestral brass instruments than any other modern brass instrument. So, the connection was made in my mind - and the idea of Ancient Scenes was born!

The composition is in two movements: I. The Temple at the summit, and II. The Stadium of the Ancient Games. Although I had pictures of those in Athens and Delphi in mind, ruins of ancient temples and stadiums exist throughout the world. So, the sound of the bass trombone is the perfect instrument to evoke the images of those universal and historic Ancient Scenes.  June 2015

Grade: 4