Led by John Wallace, renowned international trumpet soloist,
leading arts educationalist, composer, conductor and former principal of the
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, The
Wallace Collection www.thewallacecollection.org
continues to be one of the premier brass ensembles in the world.
Their catalogue of
recordings is wide ranging from early music to contemporary. It is their
recordings of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Music for Brass www.maxopus.com that features on a new release from Nimbus www.wyastone.co.uk/all-labels/nimbus/nimbus-alliance.html
with
John Wallace and John Miller (trumpets), Paul Gardham (horn), Simon Gunton (trombone)
and Robin Haggart (tuba).
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| NI 5936 |
Brass has always held an important place in the music of Sir
Peter Maxwell Davies, indeed his Opus 1, written in 1955, was a Sonata for
Trumpet and Piano.
Nimbus has put together recordings from 1999 and 2001 to
bring us a very fine collection of this composer’s music for brass. The two
main influences that are obvious on this disc are Tudor polyphony and Orkney.
His March: The Pole
Star (1982) for brass quintet is named after the Northern Lighthouse Board
ship stationed at Stromness in Orkney. The music rises from a quiet, steady march
to some fine moments that bring some particularly distinctive passages so
typical of Max, through a swirl of staccato phrases before falling, only to
rise for the triumphant coda.
Litany for a Ruined
Chapel between Sheep and Shore (1999) for trumpet solo was written shortly
after the composer’s move to the Orkney island of Sanday, close to shore and
the mediaeval ruin of the title. A series of long held notes opens the Adagio recitando before a dissonant
theme is developed. The music moves through some virtuosic passages as it darts
around, with John Wallace bringing some remarkably fine and fluent playing.
There are some terrific little details as the music rapidly shifts around as
well as some longer held phrases before rising, only to end gently and quietly.
Lento opens
quietly with a lovely, melancholy theme that is gently weaved around with
occasional little staccato phrases. The music conjures a real feeling of lonely
desolation before the music slowly finds its way to the coda leading straight
into the final movement.
The soloist launches straight into the Presto vigoroso with a swirl of rapid phrases. Wallace is
absolutely terrific bringing a fine phrasing and fluency as well as a great
sense of overall structure. The music slows to broader passages before a long
held, fading note signals the coda.
Sea Eagle (1982)
for horn solo was written whilst the composer was living on the island of Hoy
in Orkney where, looking out over the Pentland Firth, eagles could be seen in
flight. Again in three movements the Adagio
brings a lovely sonority as an evocative theme flows forward, shot through with
lovely little shorter phrases that eventually lead to a more florid moment. There
are some lovely natural harmonics with a lovely effect of spaciousness and open
skies created. There are sudden swirls and more raucous phrases before the
simple coda that just ends quietly.
The Lento brings a
fine broad theme, gently flowing with a great feeling of freedom as the music
soars around before a quiet coda. Sudden rapid swirls in the Presto molto lead to more intricate
phrases spectacularly played by Paul Gardham bringing such a fine array of
textures and timbres.
Tallis: Four
Voluntaries (1982) arranged for brass quintet takes four keyboard works by
the great 16th century English composer contained in the Mulliner
Book held at the British Museum.
With Veni redemptor
gentium I, the trombone of Simon Gunton opens with a short section of the
plainchant to which a trumpet, then the whole ensemble, join bringing a quite
beautiful sonority, taken at a solemn pace bringing a timeless atmosphere,
quite beautiful, before a lovely coda.
The trombone again brings a plainchant opening to Ex more docti mistico soon joined by the
rest of the quintet in this very fine arrangement with some quite stunning
harmonies, beautifully done and again with a fine rich coda.
The trombone announces the theme for Ecce tempus with the other players soon bringing a fine overlay of
textures to this glorious piece that rises through some very fine passages
before a gentle conclusion.
It is again the trombone that brings a plainchant opening to
Veni redemptor gentium II before layers
are added by the other instrumentalists in in this more meditative piece that
nevertheless rises for a fine coda.
Max’s interest in early music has given us a little gem here.
The English artist Laurence Stephen ‘L. S.’ Lowry (1887-1976)
lived and worked in Pendlebury, Lancashire for more than 40 years, depicting
nearby Salford and its surrounding areas. The Lowry Arts and Entertainment
Centre in Salford www.thelowry.com was
opened on 28th April 2000. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was born and grew up in
Salford and wrote his Fanfare for Lowry
(2000) for two solo trumpets for The Lowry. It was commissioned by the International
Trumpet Guild and premiered on 24 May 2001at the International Trumpet Guild
Conference, Evansville, Indiana, USA by John Wallace and Edward Carroll. It
rises in a lovely theme with some distinctive harmonies before moving through
some very fine passages that make this so much more than just a fanfare. There
are some quieter passages with some lovely textures and harmonies with John
Wallace and John Miller giving a terrific performance.
Max’s Brass Quintet
(1981) was written for the Empire Brass Quintet. The horn opens the Adagio. Allegro before other members of The Wallace Collection add
little points of colour and light, developing a lovely tapestry of sound that
shimmers with light. This composer manages to conjure a terrific atmosphere with
a subtle ebb and flow before it rises to a brief peak. The music soon grows quieter
only to lead into the allegro where
the individual instrumental points of sound move ahead quickly and dynamically yet
finding unity with the adagio. The
music moves through some passages of pinpoint delicacy, brilliantly played here,
often quickly and quietly weaving textures with shorter notes before a quiet
coda.
The Adagio flessibile
brings a long held note from the tuba of Robin Haggart, overlaid with shorter
phrases from the two trumpets. Max develops some fine textures and sonorities
as the music slowly rises. He has such a fine ear for brass sonorities and
harmonies. As the music rises it seems to blossom as light appears with short
repeated phrases bringing an anticipatory feel around which a fine blend of
brass harmonies are woven. Later the music rises up dramatically with some
shining brass phrases, these players bringing some terrific clarity. There is a
sustained quieter section where some spectacularly unusual brass sounds are
developed, always maintaining a forward pulse. There is a myriad of flourishes, outbursts and
staccato phrases before the music slowly rises to a climax before moving
through some tremendous brass textures and harmonies to the coda.
Bursts of staccato phrases suddenly appear for the Allegro vivace, rising through brilliant
passages before quietening with hushed little motifs that falter to a halt. A
long held trumpet note sounds the continuation as each instrument pulses out
phrases that weave around each other. This is a particularly brilliant and
entrancing movement full of colour, textures and light .The music moves through
passages of rapid, overlaid phrases quite brilliantly played before eventually
finding a gentler flow. Eventually it rises in swirls of sound before arriving
at the sudden coda.
This is a tremendous piece given a very fine performance.
The Wallace Collection brings absolutely magnificent
performances of these endlessly fascinating and enjoyable works. They are well
recorded and there are excellent booklet notes by Paul Griffiths.
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