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Concert: Chicago Brass Michael Stewart, Music Director/Trumpet Emily Davis, Horn Marc Geelhoed. Reporter The program opened with Variants: A Mighty Fortress by Elliot Del Borgo, after Martin Luther’s hymn, Ein Feste Burg. It began with an unaccompanied trumpet solo by Amy Nelson. The full ensemble entered performing beautiful, well-balanced phrases. Three variations on the theme came next, by turns passing the tune around the ensemble, a fast and brilliant variation, and the final manifestation of thematic material took a bombastic, minimalist turn. Next on the program was a Stewart arrangement of Gregorz Gorcycki’s In virtute tua featuring two of the trumpeters on piccolo trumpet. This piece vacillated between loud and soft sections placed next to each other, in the fashion of Gorcycki’s contemporary, Giovanni Gabrieli. An original composition for the group, and a highlight of the concert was Fantasy on Themes by John Merbecke by Gregory Pascuzzi. Merbecke dates from the mid-1500s, and his themes recall the modal liturgical The second half began with Scott Robbins’ Antiphonal Fanfare. It featured the horns and bass trombonist Bill Walsh. There was a series of canonic motifs passed between the trumpets, and then to a trombone. The Trumpet Shall Sound was second, featuring Mark Fenne on piccolo trumpet and Marc Dwyer on trombone. There was no tuba in Stewart’s arrangement, enhancing the chamber music atmosphere. Dwyer plays with a round sound and employs excellent breath control. Fenne’s playing was very sustained. Anthony Plog’s Octet followed. This three-movement work is for four trumpets and four trombones. The first movement had running lines in the trumpets reminiscent of the Game of Pairs from Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. The second movement was much softer and more restrained, with the first trumpet playing an F, and the players on either side of him creating tone clusters. The third movement included writing in a fanfare type manner. One of Copland’s Old American Songs was followed, with the melody passed around throughout the ensemble. There was a definite sense of teamwork on this piece, giving it a seamless quality. The last selection on the program was Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Prelude to Te Deum, taken at a nice, stately tempo. Once again, the horns played in effectively in unison. Fenne had an obbligato line above the ensemble on piccolo trumpet that was performed with effortless grace. This concert featured a lot of piccolo trumpet playing. The entire group displayed impressive endurance. There was no trace of fatigue or loss of tone from beginning to end. The city of Chicago should be proud to call this ensemble its own |
Brass Prelude
(click here for review) Centennial Brass “Little” Fugue in G minor........................... J. S. Bach/arr. Lilly Alleluia................................... Randell Thompson/arr. Lilly Scherzo ......................................... John Cheetham/arr. Lilly Miniature...................................... Ronald Lo Presti/trans. Lilly Members Albert Lilly, Trumpet; Emily Frame, Horn; Cayla Heacock, Euphonium; Ryan Brown, Tuba
Program to be selected from: In virtute tua ........................... Gregorz Gorczycki/arr. Stewart Sonata Pian e Forte.................... Giovanni Gabrieli/arr. Frackenpohl Old American Songs................. Aaron Copland/arr. Stewart Jupiter’s Theme ............................. Gustav Holst/arr. Stewart TBA................................................. Gregory Pascuzzi Finale from “Symphony No. 5”............. Anton Dvorak/arr. Stewart Antiphonal Fanfare ........................................ Scott Robbins Trumpet Shall Sound......................... G.F. Handel/arr. Stewart Octet........................................................ Anthony Plog Denise O. Horse Show..................................... Michael Stewart Prelude to “Te Deum”.................... M.A. Charpentier/arr. Stewart March from “Carmen” ......................... Georges Bizet/arr. Stewart Celebration Fanfare ...................................... James Clemens Pictures at an Exhibition....... Modeste Mussorgsky/arr. Stewart |
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chants of the Catholic Church. Dennis Najoom was the soloist on this work. Najoom’s sound was inspiring, declamatory, and ran the entire dynamic spectrum. A decrescendo to nothing ended the piece, and was breathtaking to behold. Holst’s Jupiter’s Theme from The Planets, arranged by Stewart followed, starting with a euphonium solo by Tom Fritz, and included a beautiful unison between three of the horns. The Finale from Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) ended the first half, and this fulfilling Stewart’s goal to challenge his players. The horn section knocked out the well-known theme in true orchestral fashion. Charles Payette deserves special recognition for his lyrical horn solo in this work, as does Eric Yates, who performed the upper register work on piccolo trumpet. 