The Devil's Dermish

This fiendishly virtuosic concert piece was written for trombonist Brian Diehl in 1994. A dermish is a Croatian folk dance (authentically spelled “drmes”) containing dance steps that, at times, go “against the grain” of the music. The Devil's Dermish has two main types of music, one in the lower range of the instrument, with quick, tongued notes, and the other a “limping” waltz in 5/8 time, more scalar and legato, exploring the higher ranges and allowing for expressive use of tone color and vibrato. The cadenza-like section employs techniques such as harmonic glissandi in one slide position, and multiphonics (singing one note while playing another). For advanced performers.