In a previous post, I described some of my experiences at Northern Illinois University. It was during that time - starting around 1992 - that I began collecting wind band recordings. The first purchases were the CD rereleases of the classic Mercury recordings of the Eastman Wind Ensemble conducted by Frederick Fennell. Around that time, Eugene Corporon was just starting his now-extensive wind recording project with the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony. The Fennell discs featured standard repertoire; Corporon focused on contemporary repertoire. So these series complemented each other nicely.
Back to Dekalb. Each semester, the conductor of NIU Wind Ensemble would post all of the literature for the semester. The list for Spring 1993 included Aspen Jubilee by Ron Nelson. On a trip to Chicago with the Wind Ensemble to perform at the Chicago Cultural Center (an absolute fish bowl where we performed the Giannini Symphony), I broke away and visited the three-story Rose Records downtown. It was there that I found my first CCM Wind Symphony disc, Hearts Music. The recording featured the Nelson along with another piece the NIU group would perform the following semester, The Winds of Nagual by Michael Colgrass. I was thrilled at the find and could not wait to listen to the album. Hearts Music is a dazzling recording. It was one of the earliest recordings in the series, and it displays a polish and precision that would continue throughout the years. The difference between this and some other of Corporon's recordings is the passion and excitement in the playing. The combination of precision and passion creates an invaluable resource for band directors and music lovers. There is not a weak piece in the program, which is: Hearts Music by David Diamond Concerto for 23 Winds by Walter Hartley Ronald Searle Suite by Lyn Murray Winds of Nagual by Michael Colgrass Aspen Jubilee by Ron Nelson It is a somewhat unusual program, to be sure. The only one that I would consider a "classic" (at the time of its release, 1990) is Hartley's Concerto for 23 Winds. The rest are either newer or more obscure, in the case of the Ronald Searle Suite. But each piece is a gem in its own unique way. This recording opened my eyes to the possibilities inherent in the concert band medium, at a time when I knew very little and had heard even less. And it was probably the first best recording I had purchased, surpassing the others in my modest collection up to that point. It remains near the top of the list. The combination of outstanding performance and dynamic repertoire make this an album I recommend to this day. Where it could not be determined back in 1990 if the newer pieces on this album would endure, time has proven kind to all three of them. The opening work, Hearts Music, is highly sophisticated. David Diamond's orchestration is delightful, combining winds and percussion in beguiling ways. As the program note indicates, the piece was written after his other, larger band work, Tantivity, the one that would seemingly be more significant due to its larger scope. Hearts Music, though, is the far better work. I cannot say with confidence that it has become more popular than Tantivity; however, Hearts Music's focus and compactness creates an indelible intensity, and CCM and Corporon provide an impressive interpretation. The second of the newer works is Winds of Nagual by Michael Colgrass. It is a programmatic work based on the writings of new age guru Carlos Castaneda, whose doctoral thesis is based on his experiences studying hallucinogenic drugs. If you are reading this blog, I probably do not need to go into too many details about such a seminal work, so I won't. (If you have not read Castaneda's early writings, though, I recommend you do so. They profoundly illuminate the music and show just how brilliantly Colgrass captured the prose.) It is one of my favorites of all time, and it stands tall in the pantheon of groundbreaking works for the wind band medium, alongside Music for Prague, ...and the mountains rising nowhere, and A Child's Garden of Dreams. Incidentally, but perhaps not coincidentally, all of these masterpieces were either the first work for band by these composers, or in the case of the Maslanka, the third piece. I have acquired other recordings of Winds of Nagual over the years, including Colgrass conducting the U.S. Marine Band. But none has captured my imagination like CCM. Maybe it is nostalgia, which is becoming pretty powerful at my age. Great playing is great playing, though. And I LOVE this interpretation. The last of the three new works was Aspen Jubilee, a fairly typical Ron Nelson overture in the vein of his "holidays" and "sojourns." That does not diminish its genius. This could also be chalked up to nostalgia as it was one of the first pieces I played in the top group at NIU. That does not give the music or the performers enough credit. Corporon and his producers create just the right amount of reverberation to allow the music shimmer with its ample metallic percussion. They are equally successful with the balance between the ensemble and the soprano vocalist. Some recordings treat the voice part as a soloist; others imagine it in the distance, a memory or dream. It is clear in the score that Nelson wants the vocalist to be part of the ensemble, sitting on-stage among the ensemble. And that is how Corporon treats it. To my ear, it is the right approach and the one that produces a beautiful, heart-wrenching slow section. Like the Colgrass, this is my favorite recording of Aspen Jubilee.
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AuthorBrian Shelton, DOB Archives
July 2022
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