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Canadian Brass swing from baroque to 'Rudolph'
with never a misstep
By Wayne Lee Gay - Star-Telegram Classical
Music Critic, December 2003
Short of a symphony orchestra, they're one
of the few musical ensembles that can convincingly move from
Mozart to Glenn Miller to Carmen. Unlike a symphony orchestra,
they do it all in one evening.
The Canadian Brass returned to Bass Performance Hall Wednesday
night, presenting the holiday version of the light-hearted
but oh-so-beautifully performed pops programs they invented
to showcase that oh-so-beautiful sound they produce.
The elements that have made them international favorites were
present as always, including their obvious virtuosity, their
not-so-obvious but equally important musical insight, a knack
for just the right touch of humor and a perfect sense of timing
in the succinct commentaries that highlight the program.
Humor abounded, but it's ultimately the music-making that
carries any Canadian Brass concert. After their ear-and-eye-grabbing
entry from the back of the hall to jazzy variations on Just
a Closer Walk With Thee, the black-suited, white-tennis-shoed
all-male quintet showed off their wide range of skills with
a set of classical arrangements.
For a brass quintet to pull off a line-up of Frescobaldi,
Handel, Gabrieli, Mozart and Vivaldi not only takes a good
sense of what music by those auspicious composers will actually
work in brass quintet arrangement, but the good sense to have
good arrangements made.
Moments of arresting musicianship abounded as well -- for
instance, in horn player Jeff Nelsen's serene rendition of
Mozart, or the burnished brilliance of trumpeter Josef Burgstaller
on the piccolo trumpet in a baroque concerto movement.
Mildly jazzy arrangements of traditional carols followed the
classical section, bridging into a pleasantly brisk rendition
of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and an ever-modulating
version of Little Drummer Boy.
This in turn slipped smoothly into the comical delivery of
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (featuring trumpeter Burgstaller
in a hideous red-nosed reindeer mask) and Frosty the Snowman
(with tubaist Charles Daellenbach melting to the floor at
the end).
The second half opened with a tip of the hat to Hanukkah,
followed by a collection of Glenn Miller favorites tied together
with Christmas melodies. Film composer Michael Kamen's melodic,
nostalgic Tribute provided an ideal showcase for the ensemble's
mellower side; a "corrected" version of Carmen closed
the program, complete with the bullfight that Bizet inexplicably
forgot to include in the original operatic edition.
Trumpeter Burgstaller showed off again in the encore, a captivating
rendition of Duke Ellington's Echoes of Harlem.
FOR REFERENCE ONLY. NOT TO BE
REPUBLISHED.
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