I am interested in the Rochut duet books. What version do people buy these days. Any help would be appreciated

The ervin counterparts are pretty good. The counterparts are normally harder than the original in the ervin book.

I didn't know these existed. I just picked up the Ervin book. Looks fun. That's for the recommendation!

Tom Ervin's duet collection is my favourite of the available options. It corresponds with the numbers in the original Rochut book, but it only includes Nos. 1-20.

Arthur Leiby put out duet parts for Rochut Nos. 21-40. I don't find these as musically rewarding to play - very chromatic and meandering.

David Ritt has two versions (published by https://cherryclassics.com/):

• <I>Melodious Accompaniments</I> for trombone or euphonium, corresponding with Rochut Books 1 and 2 - these are busy (a bit meandering) and generally sit kind of low, so the harmonies are kind of dark/rumbling. Good for low range development, I guess, or for bass trombone.

• <I>Melodious Duets</I> for alto and tenor trombone, Book 1 (includes both parts on the same page, which is good for staying together*) - The alto part has the melody (in alto clef); the range is generally good, but sometimes goes a bit high. The tenor (duet) part is often a third below the melody, and the harmonies sound good together (nice and clear). These are not necessarily in the same key as the originals.

*In newer versions of the Bordogni etudes (e.g., Raph version of Rochut), the number of measures can occasionally be different than the original Rochut version, which can throw things off with the duet versions. That's why it's nice that Ritt's Melodious Duets have both parts on the same page. Raph's version is based on the original Bordogni etudes with piano, so there can be extra bars where there would be piano only, whereas Rochut just eliminated those extra bars.

[quote="Johnstad"]https://www.tom-ervin.com/twenty-counterparts/[/quote]

Quite a deal at $12 + $1.00 shipping!

Just ordered and looking forward to playing during my isolation time - will have to play both parts myself!