Saint-Saëns : Cavatine

Written in 1915, the Cavatine, by French composer Camille Saint-

Saëns 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 FrancaisBoston Brass Series

Andy Berryman (former Principal Halle Orchestra)

Recital for TromboneDoyen

Ian Bousfield (former Principal Vienna Philharmonic)

2 Versions :EMI 1997 & Camerata 2007

Christian Lindberg The Romantic TromboneBIS

With Brass Band :

Brett Baker Bone IdyllChandos