Here is another European band recording from the mid-1990s. Where I have a large collection of albums by the Belgian Guides, this is the only CD by the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy. It is unusual for me to have a single album by an ensemble in my wind band collection, especially one as fine as the Netherlands Navy. It is unusual in several ways. The first is its program. The first three albums I discussed contained primarily original works for band. Homage à Saint Petersbourg has four rather large and - in the cases of two of the four pieces - obscure orchestral transcriptions. In addition, these are GREAT transcriptions. There are two qualities I look for in an effective transcription: 1. Honor the original style/mood/intention of the original work and 2. The music sounds idiomatic for the medium to which it is transferred. That is a tricky proposition and seemingly contradictory. How can a piece sound like the original yet sound idiomatic for band? It is a high bar to pass and the reason I am very careful in programming transcriptions. I am in Texas - the land of the band transcription - yet I think many of the most-played transcriptions do not work well for band. Every other band seems to perform the last movement of Scheherazade and the finale to Symphony No. 4 by Tchaikovsky, both of which I think fall short in both criteria. (By way of clarifying, some of the transcriptions I think work very well for band are Sensemaya by Revueltas, Symphonic Metamorphosis by Hindemith, Short Ride in a Fast Machine by Adams; these works all feature winds and/or percussion prominently, making the transfer to the band medium smoother.) So it is refreshing and heartening to listen to an album with sophisticated transcriptions that work masterfully for wind band. That album is Homage à Saint Petersbourg. The program is: Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34 by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, arr. Alphonse Courtain Hommage à Dmitri Shostakovich, Op. 4 by Alexander Comitas, arr. Franz Scheepers Emmy Vehey, Violin Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 102 by Dmitri Shostakovich, arr. Harrie Janssen Loes Geusebroek, Piano The Firebird (Suite) by Igor Stravinsky, arr. Randy Earles One of the most fascinating aspects of the CD is the liner notes. Most liner notes for wind band CDs are perfunctory explanations of the works' origins and brief blurbs about the composers. Not so here. There is an interesting history of the development and nurturing of the wind band in nineteenth century Russia, led by Rimsky-Korsakov. The three page explanation is worth a read. (I would reproduce it here, but I am always concerned about copyright.) It offers the kind of background the puts band music in a historical perspective that is often missing. As far as the recording itself, it would seem to be particularly difficult to transcribe wind accompaniments solos for piano and violin. Yet they are affecting and powerful works where the winds never overpower their comparatively underpowered soloists. The Hommage is very moving with the inclusion of the violin, and the Shostakovich loses none of its Shostakovichian style and bite. Capriccio Espagnol is also well-performed, though it is competing in a crowded marketplace. There are many different band transcriptions of the piece, and there are a number of outstanding recordings. This one is certainly distinguished. The work on which I would like to focus is The Firebird. When this album was released in 1996, I had not heard the Earles transcription of The Firebird; I only knew the warhorse setting by Mark Hindsley. For a piece that uses the strings and string effects so prominently, an issue that could hinder an arranger, Earles knocks it out of the park. It sounds as though Stravinsky envisioned and wrote the piece for wind band. And it is aided by an absolutely stunning performance by the Netherlands Band. The brass sound orchestral in the best way, and the most memorable moments retain their power. For my overview, I will focus on The Infernal Dance of King Kastchei. The original has a number of wind and percussion solos; that helps but also can handicap because it demands a level of performance commensurate to the best recordings by the best orchestras. The trombone and trumpet octaves in the opening are gorgeous and muscular, the woodwind playing appropriately brilliant, and the xylophone soloist a star in all its passages. It seemingly loses little to nothing in its journey to band. There is some issue with the busy woodwinds imitating the strings around the 2:15 mark. The performance, however, is unassailable. The recording is below. Find this album and enjoy one of the best wind band recordings around. With the recent passing of David Maslanka, I want to look at one of his albums, so I want to take a little time to find the best one or two in my library. I will post an overview of my favorite Maslanka albums in the coming weeks.
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AuthorBrian Shelton, DOB Archives
July 2022
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