Listening Session - 5/2/11

For our final listening session in Advanced Brass Ensemble Literature, I presented a collection of recordings I recently purchased featuring underrepresented styles: the brass trio, Mexican Banda music, and a brass "Shout Band."

We began with Antoine et Cleopatra, composed by Florent Schmitt (1870-1958). from the French recording "Musique Française - Grandes Fanfares Du XX Siècle by the Grand Ensemble de Cuivres et Percussion des Hauts de France (Rhapsody link) . This recording also includes an excellent performance of Tomasi's Fanfare Liturgiques.

From the University of Maryland Brass Trio recording (Amazon link), we heard David Sampson's "Duncan Trio". Movements were: I. Reflection, II. Solemn Hymn, and III. Crooked Dance in its entirety. We also heard about a minute each of the rest of the tracks, which included brass trios by Nelhybell, Plog, Hovanhess, Ewazen, and Bernofsky. This is a fantastic recording, with a great selection of repertoire and virtuoso playing by Chris Gekker, Greg Miller, and Matt Guilford.

For something completely different, we then heard La Arrolladora Banda el Limón  playing "Mi Gusto Es", and watched a bit of the YouTube video of Banda El Recodo - Te Presumo. It is very encouraging to see that Mexican pop/regional music still embraces a strong brass tradition.

Finally, in the tradition of Pentacostal Brass Shout Bands, we heard Kenny Carr and the Tigers play Fix Me and watched a short video of one of their performances. Truly inspiring.