18 News - Historic Brass Society

Much painstaking research on the part of Dr. Clements went into this
carefully prepared edition.
Henrich Biber was born in 1644 in the small town of Wartenberg in
Northern Bohemia. Little is known about his early life and it is thought
that he might have been the student of Johann Schmelzer or Antonio
Bertali both of whom are well represented in the Kromeriz collection.
Biber was in the employ of the Prince-Bishop in Kromeriz by the time
he was 24 and according to James Clements, maintained good relations
with him after leaving to work in the Court in Salzburg. Many other
New York Collegium and members of the American Boychoir under
the brilliant direction of Andrew Parrott. The result is absolutely
spectacular. Using forces of the best European and American players
in which Parrott recreates a 17th century Easter Day service of a type
that well might have been heard in Salzburg where this work was likely
performed. His judicious use of chant and instrumental sonatas leaves
the listener with not only a stunning performance but a brief time-machine
journey to Easter Day at around 1674 when the mass was thought
to have been composed for a service in the Salzburg Cathedral. It is
this sort of thorough research and brilliant intelligence, all supported
by a deep musicality, that Andrew Parrott has built his reputation as a
-
Other sections of the Mass including the opening Sonata, Gloria,
osity.
Trumpeter John Hutchins is featured in a sonata (I believe the
trumpets were vented) and he played with a beautiful lyrical touch.
The English Concert performance is also stunning. Andrew Manze, the
noted Baroque violin soloist leads the outstanding English Concert.
They chose several duo trumpet fanfares of the 1676 collection and Jo-
3 trombones and continuo to round out the program. The Schmelzer is
liner notes on this recording lists the instrument makers used. Jeremy
West plays an instrument from his own Monk Workshop and Fiona
Russell plays a McCann cornett and a cornettino by Delmas. Adam
Woolf and Philip Dale use Egger trombones after Hieronimus Starck
(1670) and Hainlein (1632), respectively. The trumpeters use instru-
to my ear, have a sharper attack and much brighter sound, more akin
to a modern trumpet, than some players active today.
piece.
— Jeffrey Nussbaum
Pride of the Regiment. The Federal City Brass Band. Jari Villanueva,
Principal Musician. Rebecca L. Doucette and Jeff Stockham, Eb
cornet; Douglas Hedwig and Jari Villanueva, Bb cornet; Ronald Friedman,
Eb alto horn; Richard Bergren, Bb tenor horn; John F. Bienarz
and Mark A. Elrod, Eb bass saxhorn. Recorded at the University of
Maryland, Baltimore County, January 19-20 2003 and Live in Concert,
Coolodge Auditorium, Library of Congress, November 13,2002.
Contact: jvmusic@erols.net, www.jvmusic.net/FCBB.html
Federal City Brass Band have become well-known ambassadors of
Civil War era music in our time. Their tireless efforts to bring this
music and the period instruments they play to a wider public have
helped to fuel an ever-growing interest in 19th-century American
music, and have inspired many other musicians to follow in their
a potpourri of American Civil War music taken from period military
band books, published arrangements of the time, and period military
manuals. In this endeavor I think they come closer than any band I
War military band. This is partly due to the pieces they have chosen to
highlight, many of which are easy to imagine a military band using on
period instruments they use (many belonging to Mark Elrod). While
imagine being there.
One of the best things about this recording is the way that it highlights
the timbres of the different instruments; for a group using all rotaryvalve,
conical-bore instruments, there is a surprising variety of colors
and shadings. In the “Damen Souvenir Polka” and the “Negro Medley
Overture” the Eb and Bb cornets switch off on the melody, and while
in “Washington Grays” there are some timbre differences, possibly
between the over-the-shoulder and the forward bells. The “Sunny
Hours Waltz” features a beautiful alto horn solo, highlighting yet
another little heard timbre. The tenor horn shines when it takes the
melody on “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and the Eb basses move
the band along with a booming yet mellow sound. There is quite a bit
in a lush, romantic style. I have heard some musicians take a more
seems to take a brassier approach and I think it is successful and
convincing. There is also a section of bugle marches, that features
very tasteful and in-tune three-part bugle playing, especially on the
“American Flag March.”
There are a few imperfections here and there, but I think this can be
attributed to the fact that this was a very early effort when the band was
relatively new, in combination with recording from live performances.
The fact that not only the leader but also many of the individual band
members have put in many years of diligent study and research on
HISTORIC BRASS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER - WINTER 2005 | 33