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Wagner's Das Rheingold is a gold mine for the bass trombonist. In it are some of the softest and loudest playing we will ever encounter and some of it occurs immediately after LONG periods of rest. But to play an opera by Wagner is to experience something very special and we can be grateful for the glorious music and rewarding trombone parts he has left us.
Keep in mind that Wagner composed his "Ring Cycle" operas for four trombone players - three "tenor-bass" trombones and one bass/contra-bass trombone. While the part for the fourth trombone never specifies when the player is to play bass or contra-bass, the scores (editions by Dover are inexpensive and rather reliable) are very clear. In general, Wagner called for the fourth trombone to play bass trombone when the contra-bass tuba functions as the true bass of the low brass choir. When the fourth trombone is the true bass of the low brass (usually when the contra-bass tuba is functioning as the bass of the Wagner tuba choir), the contra-bass trombone is called for.
Having said this, the excerpt above represents an unusual usage of the contra-bass trombone since Wagner calls for contra-bass trombone to play along with the tuben and the contra-bass tuba. In an audition, I would always use a regular bass trombone for all Wagner excerpts even if originally intended for contra-bass trombone. It is the rare orchestra that owns such an instrument (and an even rarer player) and while they add something to the orchestral color, players are never expected to bring one to an audition.
"Ruhiges Zeitmass" means "Still, quiet tempo" while "sehr weich" means "very soft." This passage is the motive associated with the castle of the gods ("Valhalla") and is very majestic and reverent. It occurs in a very narrow dynamic range and good slurring is critical. I have indicated suggested breath marks. The final crescendo should go to perhaps mezzo-piano before returning to piano for the last note. Practice, practice, practice.
A good tool for working out the kinks in this range is to use the book, "Duets and Trios arranged from the works of Johann Sebastian Bach for Two and Three Tubas," arranged by Daniel Augustine and published by Southern Music (catalog B-260). It is an excellent study book for bass trombone which brings us into the register of this excerpt and can be helpful for developing a good legato style in the valve and pedal registers. My thanks go to John Engelkes, Bass Trombonist of the San Francisco Symphony, who brought this book to my attention many years ago.
The recent recordings of Wagners "Ring Cycle" by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra are excellent and provide fine models of trombone playing.
To download the music of this excerpt as a PDF file which may be read and printed in a high quality output with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software), click the icon below:
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