Last week I played the entire Beethoven Missa Solemnis on bass trombone. This was, without a doubt, the hardest thing I have ever had to play (the fact it was on my secondary instrument only magnified that). Beethoven was a true genius, and this was one of his last and largest works that easily rivals the 9th symphony in scope. On the surface, it doesn't look too bad - not too high, too low, or too fast. The trombones frequently do not at all play with each other; chords change constantly (often going places you would never have fathomed). Pitch wise, I tried to lock in with the basses as best as I could, anchored by our own Ike Harris - the consummate professional as always.
There were probably more exposed bass trombone parts in that one monumental work than in a year's worth of tuba playing. I only had a week from start to finish on it; yet one year may not have been enough. I have never seen the other trombone players score study and listen to recordings they way they did for this piece - you really feel hung out all alone despite the scale of the orchestration. After enough woodshedding, the fugue in the Gloria came off well. There were a few rough spots here and there later throughout the piece, but we all managed to survive.
Strangely enough, though I still had three notes left when the piece was over a couple hours later
Tuba players need to play Beethoven once in a while. It is a completely unique experience from anything we are used to. We are exposed to another great genius, Bach, through quintets and solos, but rarely Beethoven. This must change.
~ a humbled Marty Neilan
