Saint-Saëns : Cavatine
Written in 1915, the Cavatine, by French composer Camille SaintSaëns is one of the most attractive works in the trombone repertory
and celebrates a rapturous late flowering of the ‘Romantic style’. It
has figured on examination syllabi and as an audition test ever
since its use in a competition at the Paris Conservatoire in 1922
(the year after the composer’s death) and continues to represent
both a technical and musical challenge to performers. The
trombone has always been very popular in France and throughout
the latter part of the nineteenth century was widely accepted as an
expressive and distinctive solo instrument. It’s popularity
continued into the twentieth century prompting the Paris
Conservatoire to establish a tradition of inviting respected
composition Professors to provide substantial musical works for
use in competitions and examinations. Trombonists are probably
aware of other such pieces by Bozza, Büsser, Casterade, Guilmant
and Ropartz (to mention just a few) who contributed to the
instrument’s repertoire through these commissions.
Born in Paris in 1835, Saint-Saëns showed an early talent at the
keyboard. His efforts at the piano attracted the attention of many of
the greatest musicians of this era including Berlioz, Rossini,
Gounod but especially the ultimate master of the keyboard, Franz
Liszt, who was particularly impressed by the ability of the young
Saint-Saëns to perform any of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas from
memory. Throughout his life success as a composer was
supplemented by teaching composition and serving as organist in
many of the French capital’s most famous Churches resulting in a
wide range of both sacred and secular works. Written when the
composer was 80, the Cavatine clearly shows influences of earlier
popular compositions, the slow middle section recalling ‘The
Swan’ (Carnival of the Animals) and the ecclesiastic flavour of the
Adagio (Organ Symphony) where the trombone is also featured as
a solo instrument within the orchestral texture.
The Cavatine opens with a dramatic chordal statement from the
piano introducing the soloist in an arpeggio figure, spanning the
interval of a 13th, from low to high register and instantly reveals
the ability of the trombonist to produce a refined and consistent
tone throughout the range. This can be achieved technically by
emphasising the role of ‘air-speed’ in achieving higher notes and
economising on the tightening of muscles in the embouchure. If
the lip is allowed to become too tense the sound quality of the F in
bar 5 will suffer. Try to establish a full round tone on the very first
note that with the help of abdominal and diaphragm muscles will
allow you to increase the ‘air-speed’ and float easily up the
arpeggio. These significant crotchets establish the musical
intentions of the performer right away and if played too short
rather detract from the nobility of the theme. I have always felt that
this rather ‘pompous’ opening phrase is reminiscent of a Victorian
drawing room ballade; entertaining, yet a touch melodramatic. In
bars 6 and 7 it is useful to recognize where the emphasis is placed
on alternate beats thus creating the feeling of three bars of two
within the two bars of three! This device, known as a ‘hemiola’,
derives from Renaissance times and serves to propel the phrase
forward with a kind of energy and bravado. A further
compositional device appears from bar 10 where a pair of two bar
sequences, assist the musical line and allow the performer to really
‘act out the drama’. One must also assess the intended musical
result when choosing the kind of articulation for quaver passages.
Again a ‘staccato attack’ may enhance definition but rather detract
from elegance and refinement. A combination of a softer ‘da-da’
production with fast and accurate slide action will produce a more
flowing and musical result.
The serious trombonist is faced with decisions regarding alternate
positions on a regular basis and I have tried to annotate a few
recommendations throughout the accompanying extracts, which
generally follow two rules. The first is obvious proximity of
positions but the second is to try to find a circular pattern that
allows fluidity and ease of movement of the slide, the trombone’s
rather awkward appendage!
Fig 1.
With so many players choosing instruments with an F valve it is
easy to try and solve all ‘shift’ problems by virtually disregarding
6th and 7th position. However, in my experience clarity is
frequently enhanced by the extra effort and in any case the added
co-ordination required to press the valve down at the right moment
in a fast passage can often be compromised when under pressure in
a performance. For this reason I would recommend that the low C
near the beginning of the rising scale passage in bar 21 is taken in
6th position. Be careful also to resist the tendency to get louder
before actually marked in bar 27. As the human ear favours the
higher frequencies, be subtle, don’t get too loud too soon and take
advantage of this fact in conserving air for the rest of the phrase.
Fig. 2
The two descending motifs in bars 48 and 50 can easily turn into
an approximate tasteless glissando so be careful to employ neat
slurring and to show clarity with refinement. Mastering ‘legato’ is
one of the more problematic areas of technique on the trombone.
One must appreciate that to play smoothly between two notes the
air must remain constant, however, moving on the same harmonic
and crossing harmonics requires different solutions. To avoid the
‘dreaded’ glissando or ‘smear’ the slide must remain in the
position for as long a possible and move to the next one coinciding
exactly with a soft tongue, which briefly ‘interrupts’ the air column
but doesn’t stop it. The ‘click’ experienced when gliding across
harmonics should as far as possible match up to this, creating a
pleasing unity.
The middle section of Cavatine, marked Andantino reveals the
quality of a performer’s ‘legato style’ and will also challenge
breath control (note recommended breath) and intonation (note
slight flattening on D# in bar 76). The trombone is hard enough to
play in tune with its ‘sliding pitch’ but one must also further pay
attention to notes that require adjustment to reflect their position in
the harmonic series and in respect of equal temperament (more
about ‘micro-tuning’ in next article). Oddly, no actual dynamic is
requested in the original version, just the word ‘dolce’, therefore, I
recommend a subtle volume and a tempo that will allow the music
to flow with a hint of ‘rubato’ and perhaps even ‘vibrato’. These
are also ‘thorny subjects’ but in my opinion quite easy to
assimilate. The definition of ‘rubato’ is ‘to rob’, therefore, like
every pleasant law abiding citizen if ones takes away, then one
gives back. Check your ‘rubato’ is not all take! Vibrato is nothing
more than an additional colour you carry in your musical tool-bag,
one that can be used at different speeds and amplitudes to express
your emotions provoked by musical line and harmony (emotive
subjects that will be examined at greater length in subsequent
issues).
Fig. 3
The passage from bar 88-111 is peppered with subtleties, a few of
which I have indicated on the fourth extract. Choosing a breathing
pattern that is technically and musically satisfying can often
produce a variety of solutions and indeed comparison between
recordings in the passage bar 90-111 will confirm this. I hope you
will find my hints useful guidance when formulating your own
interpretation.
Fig. 4
The printed music is available in a number of editions though the
actual notes remain the same in trombone and piano parts. The one
published by Durand is the original and American editions by
Master Music and Elkan-Vogel are simply reprints. Editions by
Brass Wind and Marc Reift come with treble clef parts, the former
with interesting editorial modifications by former BBC Symphony
Principal Trombone, Chris Mowat, the latter by John Mortimer but
also with an additional version for brass band accompaniment
beautifully arranged by James Gourlay. Arrangements for band of
piano accompaniments are not always successful but this one
intelligently demonstrates knowledge and respect of Saint-Saën’s
fine orchestration skills and deserves more frequent performance.
For such a popular piece there are strangely not as many available
recordings as one might expect, however, the ones listed below
demonstrate a range of contrasts, which are well worthy of
comparison.
Recordings :
With Piano :
Ron Barron (former Principal Boston Symphony)
Le Trombone Francais
Boston Brass Series
Andy Berryman (former Principal Halle Orchestra)
Recital for Trombone
Doyen
Ian Bousfield (former Principal Vienna Philharmonic)
2 Versions :
EMI 1997 & Camerata 2007
Christian Lindberg The Romantic Trombone
BIS
With Brass Band :
Brett Baker Bone Idyll
Chandos