TOP BRASS: A limited edition containing the following two
albums
BRASSED OFF: Music from the original soundtrack
R. B. HALL Death or Glory
K. MOSS Floral Dance
Joaquin RODRIGO En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor (based on theme from Concierto
de Aranjuez, 2nd movt)
R. BARRETT/E. SIEBERT March of the Cobblers
W. RIMMER Cross of Honour
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings PARRY arr. Herbert Jerusalem
Julius FUCIK Florentiner March
Percy GRAINGER Danny Boy (Irish Tune from County Derry)
MARCANGELO Clog Dance
Kenneth ALFORD Colonel Bogey
MONK and ALEXANDER err. Rimmer All Things Bright and
Beautiful
Gioacchino ROSSINI arr. G. J. Grant Guglielmo Tell: Overture
Sir Edward ELGAR arr. Ord Hume Pomp and Circumstance March in D, op.39/1
(abridged)
Trevor JONES *Original music for the soundtrack: A Sad Old Day, Aforementioned
Essential Items, Years of Coal, There's More Important Things in Life, We'll
Find a Way, Honest Decent Human
Beings
Grimethorpe Colliery Band/John
Anderson except *Orchestra/Trevor Jones
CLASSIC BRASS
Giuseppe VERDI arr. Frank Wright La Forza del Destino: Overture
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings PARRY arr. Herbert Jerusalem
Claude DEBUSSY arr. Ball Children's Corner: Golliwog's Cakewalk
Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV arr. Ashmore The Snow Maiden: Dance of the
Tumblers
Gabriel FAURE arr. Langford Pavane op.50
Richard WAGNER arr. Owen Die Walküre: Ride of the
Valkyries
Pietro MASCAGNI arr. Denis Wright Cavalleria Rusticana:
Intermezzo
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART arr. Ellerby Piano Sonata in A, K.331:
3rd movt - "Rondo alla Turca"
Sir Edward ELGAR arr. Denis Wright Variations on an Original Theme - "Enigma",
op.36: Nimrod
Hector BERLIOZ arr. Frank Wright Le Carnaval Romain, op.9
Antonin DVORAK arr. Ellerby Symphony no.9 in E minor, op.95 - "From the
New World: 2nd movt (abridged)
George Frideric HANDEL arr. Bateman Semele: Where'er you
walk*
Léo DELIBES arr. Sparke Lakmé: Flower Duet
Franz LISZT arr. Rimmer Hungarian Rhapsody
no.2
Grimethorpe Colliery RJB
Band/Garry Cutt, with *Lesley Garrett
(soprano)
BMG Classics 75605 51368 2
[2 CDs 49' 55", 68'
50"]
Crotchet
£16.99
In a letter to Elgar following the première of his Severn Suite for
brass band, Bernard Shaw protested that it was useless filling the score
with Italian expression marks that coal miners wouldn't understand; what
was needed were down-to-earth phrases such as "now, like hell!" or "it's
a march, not a bloody minuet!". The Grimethorpe Colliery Band need no such
encouragement. All the faster pieces from the now classic soundtrack for
Brassed Off have an irrepressible verve, while haunting poetry and tonal
shading is found in the Grainger version of the Londonderry Air and the Rodrigo
movement. The original music by Trevor Jones has far more substance than
you would imagine just by looking at the (mostly) very brief timings and
its insertion gives a narrative feel to the whole disc. This is a total product,
not just a selection of pieces.
That Brassed Off represented a particularly magic moment for the band is
demonstrated by a comparison between the two performances of Jerusalem. Good
though that in Classic Brass is, that in Brassed Off is unforgettable. I
do feel that the conductor on this second disc is content to let the band
give of its best (which it does) while John Anderson challenged them to go
beyond that. Perhaps a few choice phrases from Bernard Shaw would have been
in order here. Maybe for this reason, as the programme proceeded I found
myself getting more and more choosy about which arrangements really came
off. In my student days I held up my hands in horror at the idea of presenting
music in any but the composer's original version; now I feel that the only
criterion is "does it work?" Does it sound as if the music was conceived
for this combination? The track I really loved was the Mozart, a cheeky
arrangement cheekily performed. I also particularly appreciated the Debussy
and have to note that in these two pieces colour has been added to piano
originals. Removing colour from an orchestral original is more problematic.
Nimrod seems a little monotonous shorn of Elgar's kaleidoscopic tonal mix
and you re-orchestrate Berlioz at your peril! On the other hand the Verdi
is astonishingly effective and the chaste beauty of the Fauré survives
intact. Anyone who thinks brass players can only play loudly (well, some
of them can …) should hear this. So there are a few near misses alongside
the hits and if you are going to cut a movement like the Dvorak (only the
outer sections are present) you should at least wipe the blood off - the
modulation is horrible. Also, Miss Garrett and the band are frequently not
together at all.
Brassed Off is a great disc which I feel everyone should have, even and
especially those who normally don't go in for brass bands. About Classic
Brass I'm not quite so sure, but while the offer of the two together lasts,
why not?
Christopher Howell
Brassed Off
Classic Brass
http://www.click2classics.co.uk
