Tuesdays on the Tube: Debussy – The Sunken Cathedral

Claude Debussy has always been a composer I have enjoyed a musician. Whether it is playing trombone quartet arrangements of The Girl with Flaxen Hair or his Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun for orchestra, his music is pretty close to the sound of “emotion.” For my faculty recital in February, I used some of the talented accompanists from one of the universities I teach at on a regular basis.  One student was finishing up her last semester and performed a few Debussy compositions on her senior piano recital. It was there that I first heard Debussy’s Cathedral Engloutie – which is sad that it took over 20 years to hear this magnificent piece. Immediately, after hearing it I thought, “Surely, someone has arranged this for a brass ensemble.”

And someone has.
Gerry Pagano founded the St. Louis Low Brass Collective a while ago, and it has become a fantastic outlet for low brass players in the St. Louis area. The SLLBC collaborated with Sotto Voce a couple years ago to give this excellent rendition of Debussy’s composition arranged Sotto Voce member, Mike Forbes. Enjoy this great work!