Sacred/Hymn Arrangements for Solo Trombone w/ or w/o Piano

[JMHTrombone]

I'm looking at getting some recommendations for sacred/hymn tune arrangements to perform that fit in the 'Slow Melody' competition genre.

It's always great to support arrangers by buying the sheet music, and that's even better when it's a PDF download, so if you've got any suggestions, post them below.

[harrisonreed]

I think it would work with piano -- Liszt's "Hosannah!"

[Gfunk]

I just played Fuare’s Pei Jesu from his Requiem on a recital. It’s a popular soprano solo, but lays well on alto. I put it up a fourth into Eb instead of the original key of Bb. It’s a gorgeous piece of music. I can’t ever get the recording of Voces8 performing it out of my head.

[cmcslide]

I’ve had a couple of students play David Fetter’s Variations on Dona Nobis Pacem. Nice unaccompanied piece, with a nice slow melody to open. It’s meant for bass trombone and comes in Eb and C. The the Eb version only goes to a trigger Eb, if my memory serves, so it could be done on a tenor with an F attachment. Some of the variations are quite challenging!

[hyperbolica]

Bill Pearce did a couple books of tbone solos with piano. I played them in high school a lot. viewtopic.php?t=369

[sungfw]

Take a look at Share My Yoke (or, really, just about anything in the Salvation Army solo arrangements). There’s an arrangement for Bb cornet and piano by Ivor Bosanko that would be easy enough to transcribe to bass clef, assuming you don’t already read Bb treble clef.

Also, lots of oratorio, mass, and operatic solos lay well as instrumental solos, like If with All Your Hearts (Mendelssohn, Elijah), Lord, to Thee (Handel, Theodora), I Know That My Redeemer Liveth (Handel, Messiah), Waft Her, Angels (Handel, Jephtha), Abends will Ich schlafen gehn (Humperdink, Hansel und Gretel), Panis Angelicus (Franck, Messe à Trois Voix) …

[sungfw]

I just played Faure’s Pie Jesu from his Requiem on a recital.

FTFY.

[StephenK]

Peter Moore's latest CD 'Shift' has Blessed Assurance arr. Simon Wood, it's with brass band, but I would think there may be a piano version.
There's also Erik Leidzen concertino (Christ was the shepherd) on the same CD, which has a piano version.
I've also heard Peter play Walk with Me (Steadman Allen) which has a piano acct version.
Stephen

[JohntheTheologian]

Following this thread with interest. Thanks for the tips about the SA solo arrangements. Some of them look excellent. I own several Chicago and NY Staff band recordings and wonder if some of those solos on those might come from this series.

I was wondering if anyone has a used copy of this unavailable version of I Will Sing of My Redeemer from that series. It's a favorite hymn of mine and would like to find a copy.

Bass clef version would be preferable so that I could use the duet version with a friend who doesn't read TC, but any version would be great. I read treble clef and could transpose the duet part into BC for him.

Here's a link to the version I'm referring to.

https://shop.salvationarmy.org/I-Will-S ... searchid=0

[BGuttman]

Do a search on Homer Rodeheaver. He was a trombone playing preacher during the first half of the 20th Century and wrote a number of hymns. Doug Yeo did a whole profile of him which is probably available on his Web Site (www.yeodoug.com).

[JohntheTheologian]

Do a search on Homer Rodeheaver. He was a trombone playing preacher during the first half of the 20th Century and wrote a number of hymns. Doug Yeo did a whole profile of him which is probably available on his Web Site (www.yeodoug.com).

Doug has written a fine full biography of Rodeheaver.

https://www.amazon.com/Homer-Rodeheaver ... 0252085833

Rodeheaver was actually the musical director for the famous evangelist of a century ago, Billy Sunday, for many years and then he started a gospel music publisher house based out of his adopted home town of Winona Lake, Indiana, where Sunday also lived. There was a famous Bible conference grounds there. My family vacationed there as a boy. His publishing house did publish a number of sacred instrumental options, the most notable being the Hymns in Harmony series that my trumpet playing brother played from as teenagers. However, the company was sold to Word Music and then sold again and they literally trashed a lot of the old material. I don't know how much is still available.

DY, tells in the bio how letters, manuscripts, etc of HR were literally thrown in the dumpster when his company was purchased, making it difficult to track down some important information. Doug's book, though, is of great value to those like myself with an interest in American religious history-- my academic specialty-- and trombone playing-- my hobby. Doug links it with such topics as the rise of white gospel music in the US, racism, as well as other interesting topics that studying HR brings up.

[JohntheTheologian]

Some trombone solos, with piano accompaniment, that I've found to be nice are those by Brent Adams. Often he weaves a couple of hymn tunes together. A few lay very nicely on euphonium as well.

Here are the links:

https://lorenz.com/shop/instrumental/so ... ship-vol-3

https://www.jwpepper.com/trombone-or-eu ... 0-238624/p

https://www.jwpepper.com/trombone-or-eu ... 25-72374/p

I should mention that the keyboard part is essential to performance on these and some of the piano parts are challenging. I've had the privilege of having access to a fine accompanist when I performed them, but the first good pianist I showed them to in our church bluntly said to me: "ask Julia" who is an organ grad student and an extraordinary pianist as well.

[JMHTrombone]

Thanks everyone; a lot of good stuff to review and research.

It's interesting the difference in hymn/sacred arrangements from the British Brass Banding scene to the Americas. A lot of music I've not heard of before in what you've suggested.

I'm in Australia, where we have a much more Anglican set of music on offer.

Definitely suggest more!

[JohntheTheologian]

These counter melodies on well known-- at least to most American Protestants over the age of 40 -- hymn tunes are useful. When I've used them along with congregational singing, people in the congregation have always appreciated them. Some are given in more than one key and the melody line is always printed along with the counter melody.

They also are designed to coordinate with trumpet descants published by the same company. The company also publishes other sacred music for brass, much of which I haven't yet explored.

Here are the links:

https://www.hopepublishing.com/WK698-SI ... DIES_VOL_I

https://www.hopepublishing.com/WK698-SI ... DIES_VOL_2

https://www.hopepublishing.com/WK1757-S ... DIES_VOL_3

https://www.hopepublishing.com/W804_SIX ... ANTS_VOL_1

https://www.hopepublishing.com/W805_SIX ... ANTS_VOL_2

https://www.hopepublishing.com/W806_SIX ... ANTS_VOL_3