Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Listening Party: Part 1

Today for our Brass Literature class we had a listening party. Although these pieces don't strictly fit in the realm of EBM, I thought you would enjoy a sampling of some of the pieces that were featured...

Breakaway by David Sampson
I: The Carving Stone

This features two trumpets and was originally recorded by the trumpets in the American Brass Quintet,  Kevin Cobb and Raymond Mase. I will be expanding on this piece in a later blog post. Get excited!

Music for Brass Instruments by Ingolf Dahl
I: Christ lay in the Bonds of Death

This was performed by the New World Symphony Brass. The instrumentation is unique in that it includes two trumpets, tenor and bass trombone, horn, and has an optional tuba part. The recording we listened to included tuba, and I think it is a good addition to the ensemble because it does really help to fill out the section. It includes some very pleasant slow choral sections with a contrasting fast section in the middle.

http://store.acousticsounds.com/includes/image_browser.cfm?title_id=79561

Gloria
by John Rutter
III: Vivace e Ritmico

The recording we listened to was recored by the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. The instrumentation included organ, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, percussion, and choir. The piece has a sacred feel mainly because of the instrumentation and the text in vocal lines. The third movement includes a lot of polyphony and canon. It sounds very celebratory and this recording does a great job of balancing the singers and brass section. I can even hear the altos.

Concerto for Brass Quintet by Mark Rheaume
III: Atto Terzo

This was performed by the Eastern Illinois University Brass Quintet and orchestral winds. The piece is based on an opera. Each brass player is thought of as a character in the opera whereas the winds act as the orchestra. The movement has very old sound reminiscent of the old opera buffa style.

Corpendium 1 by Richard Bissill

Originally written for six horns, this recording featured the Guildhall Horn Ensemble. This piece has a number of fast moving and intricate parts. It's features a lot of dense textures and this recording in particular is extremely clean.

http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/pjbe/db/show.php?&id=51

Konzertmusik fur Brass, Two Harps, and Piano op. 49 by Paul Hindemith
III: Massig, schnell, kravtvoll

Performed by the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, it features four trumpets, three horns, three trombones, tuba, two harps, and piano. This piece has the characteristic Hindemith tonality, but is still pleasant to listen to, given that I am not the biggest fan of his music. The two harps and piano really add a nice contrast in timbre and lighten up certain segments of the movement.

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