Larry Sitsky on Khavar for solo trombone

In 1982 Larry Sitsky visited Armenia, the land of his forebares and felt a strong connection to the land and the cultural heritage of the country. Upon returning to Canberra, Australia, he wrote a series of pieces for solo instruments that explore aspects his reactions and impressions of Armenia. "Khavar" was written in 1983 for Simon de Haan (then the lecturer in Trombone at the Canberra School of Music). In Armenian "khavar" means "dark".

The following notes were taken from working through Khavar with Proffessor Sitsky in 1997.

Movement 1

• the tempo should be very free and not too slow
• create a flowing effect by moving faster towards and slower away from the higher pitches
• the long notes at the end of each phrase are points of arrival, hence should be emphasised
• the soft phrases should be preceded by a large swell so that they seem to come out of nowhere
• within each dynamic, especially the louder ones there should be variation, not just flat and loud
  

Movement 2

• this is a dance, so should be light and free
• accent each grouping (two or three) with a lighty rather than a heavy accent
• it is fine to leave breathing space at certain points in the score, especially before a change occurs
• the forte’s should be emphasised to give contrast
• the quaver pattern should be longer and heavier
• the rit. at the end can start much earlier
  

Movement 3

• the amount of space should be determined by the acoustic of the room, ie not just lots of silence
• as with the first movement interest should be created by varying the tempo and dynamic within each phrase
• the final set of crotchets can start very slow, speed up, the slow again, as with a cadenza
  

Movement 4

• the key word here is free
• it can be effective to emphasise each grouping by allowing more space between each gesture
• the grace notes should be very crushed to make clear that they are not just fast sixteenths.
• the staccato notes at the start of the middle section should feel as if they are going to lead into a dance, but then get side-tracked
• the final section is like an explosion of emotion, but need not be played at all fast
• keep a sense of freedom and lyricism throughout
  

Movement 5

• the tempo and style should be exactly the same as the first movement to make the relationship clear to the audience
• don’t play the first section too soft, leave somewhere to go
• when the singing comes in, hold the first note until the sound is established, then move on
• the singing has to be very clear, hence much louder than the playing
• it is fine to have beating between the voice and trombone, in fact this is a part of the intended effect
  

James Campbell
jbonecampbell@hotmail.com