Baroque Music for Brass & Organ

After finding Frederick Fennell and his Cleveland (and others) Wind Ensemble, I became an confirmed brass lover. Since I was already a huge admirer of the king of instruments, I naturally ventured out to brass + organ, surely the pinnacle of big sound music. This is one of the finest albums of such for baroque music. It has several attributes that guarantee immense satisfaction. First, the brass ensemble is the Empire Brass Quintet, the leading brass ensemble since the demise of the Phillip Jones Brass Ensemble. Second, William Kuhlman is acknowledged as one of the leading organists in the world. Third, Telarc recorded the album, and they had the highest reputation for vivid recordings. The albums success was a no-brainer!The individual pieces played here all originate from the Baroque period of classical music, with such names as Bach, Telemann, and Handel. Lesser known by his name than by his famous Trumpet Voluntary is Jeremiah Clarke, the piece long attributed incorrectly to Purcell. Over the last few decades, this piece has probably been played at more weddings than anything else other than the Wedding March from Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream. Almost as well-known is Clarke's Prince of Denmark's March given a superb performance.This vividly recorded disc from heaven receives my highest recommendation. Buy it and listen to it with someone you love.

This Telarc recording is, once again, true to their reputation for sound quality. You'll love the rich tones of the brass in solo and in harmony, let alone in company with organ. (Especially if you can listen to them in SACD!) My only "con" is one of personal taste: I prefer to hear the brass in support of the organ; many of the pieces here feature the brass with organ accompaniment. But the opening with Purcell's "Rondeau" and some others like the arrangement of Clarke's famous "Trumpet Voluntary" pushed my 4 stars up to 5. Typical of the Barogue, the selections here can be melodious and smooth, or exciting and grand - but always in motion. The Empire Brass and William Kuhlman demonstrate their musicianship and fully display the glorious sounds of the Baroque masters.

A perfect collection of perfectly performed compositions of Pachelbel, J.S.Bach, Charpentier, Purcell and Telemann. There are also two unexpected gems; the very missed Rolf Smedvig's magical arrangement of Handel's dance-like Violin Sonata in F minor, Op 1, No 12, and Rigaudon, the processional of Fr. Andre Campra, Maitre de Musique au Cathedral de Notre Dame. To hear the latter, sadly even without the Empire Brass Quintet, during a canonization ceremony in St. Peters in Roma would add immeasurably to the spirituality of that sanctuary.

The reviews on this so far are far overrated. I have listened to this disc in PCM (16bit) and SACD DSD modes. Not much difference in sound. Low end a bit better in SACD. This is not the greatest SACD of all time. The brass is recessed and not well defined....a great disappointment. The organ is tolerable. The problem with this disc is the studio recording. The engineers apparently did minimum effort in microphone placement and selection. The musical selections themselves are also not spectacular. If I knew how this disc sounded before I bought it, I would NOT have purchased it. It is mediocre.

We bought "The Glory of Gabrieli" a few weeks ago and loved it. It has some organ, but the predominant playing is by the brass. So we ordered this one, hoping for more of the same, and were very disappointed. It should be titled "Baroque Music for Organ, with some Brass". The music is fine and the playing is excellent, but it's more organ music.

EMPIRE BRASS is a great ensemble and they are in this performance. As I have remarked in other reviews SACD brings nothing to the table in my view.The Stereo version is excellent however and maintains the distinct timbres of all the instruments and the clarity of the sound. In the stereo mode a very enjoyable performance.

If you enjoy majestic music, you'll love this album. The sound is crystal clear. There are areas where the brass tends to outweigh the organ. But, all in all, I found the music on this cd to be most enjoyable. One might get the feeling in listening to this cd that he/she is actually at a real coronation with all the pomp and circumstance involved.

A different interpretation of the best loved Baroque music and it's very well done.Nice to listen to during dinner.

El albúm tiene un gran nivel de grabación. Se puede distinguir claramente las partes surround. Excelente Calidad del producto, supero mis expectativas. Y en cuanto a la selección de temas es exquisita la producción.

very good AAAAA++++++

Superbe prise de son et musique magnifique , telarc évidement

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