Transatlantic: Music for Brass

The disc opens with the premiere recording of William Walton’s Roaring Fanfare for brass and percussion. This was commissioned by Lord Solly Zuckerman to commemorate the opening of the new terrace at London Zoo’s Lion House. It was heard on 3 June 1976 on the arrival of Her Majesty the Queen at a reception marking the 150th anniversary of the Zoological Society. It is noticeably short, lasting less than a minute. Alongside the typical Waltonian regal fanfare sound, it is characterised by short downward glissandos, mimicking the lions’ roar.

John Adam’s China Gates was originally devised for piano in 1977. This post minimalist piece is descriptive of rainfall. I am not sure where “China” comes into the equation, as it bears no connection with his opera, Nixon in China, but “gates” according to Adams’s website “is a term borrowed from electronics, [and] are the moments when the modes abruptly and without warning shift. There is ‘mode’ in this music, but there is no “modulation.”

There is only an extant pencil sketch of Benjamin Britten’s Funeral March, which was commenced in 1938 but subsequently abandoned. In 2022, Bernard Hughes was asked to complete the work for the present ensemble. It was effectively extended from seventeen to forty-six bars. Britten had left a few elliptical notes as to what would have come next. It is a lugubrious piece as befits the title. No suggestion is given as to what was the original intention or occasion of the March.

Another Britten premiere is A Fanfare for June 30th, 1970 (1970). It was composed specially for the farewell gala for Sir David Webster, the then retiring chief executive of the Royal Opera House. According to the liner notes, it has not been published, recorded, or performed in public until this year’s 2025 Aldeburgh Festival when it is due to be played on 29 June. Incorporated into the score are “scraps of nine of Sir David’s favourite opera tunes.” It is a bright piece, with some melancholic touches.

Florence Price’s Octet for brass and piano (1930) was discovered in 2009 in a “cache” of lost scores at her Illinois summer house. From the first the listener is captivated by the none too subtle fusion of European classical music with Americana. The first of three movements communicate her take on a spiritual with nods to George Gershwin. The liner notes suggest hints of Dvorak’s New World Symphony in the slow Andante cantabile; however, the ‘trio’ section is nothing like anything the Bohemian wrote. Blues, galops and jazz infuse the wayward final movement, leaving the listener wanting an encore. The Octet is scored for two trumpets, two horns, two trombones, tuba, and a virtuosic part for piano. 

The Brass Quintet No.1, op.73 (1961) by Malcolm Arnold has many of the hallmarks expected of his lighter pieces – joviality and a sense of humour. But there is darker material in the middle movement Chaconne including a significant role for the tuba. The pot-boiler here is the Con brio finale, which uses every brass player’s trick in the book – mutes, double tonguing, and glissandi. It was written for, and dedicated to, the New York Brass Quintet.

Timothy Jackson, the Composer in Association with Onyx Brass, has recently arranged an early piano prelude by George Gershwin from around 1919. Novelette in Fourths is really a sugary, but thoroughly enjoyable little cakewalk, the precursor of jazz dance and music. The ‘fourths’ in the title reflect the considerable use of the prefect 4^th interval throughout.

There is no indication of when Gordon Langford’s Prelude, Polonaise and Promenade were composed. It has an approachable style, typical of a composer who was a frequent guest on the long-running BBC radio programme, Friday Night is Music Night (1953 to the present). Yet, this is not mere light music, but a sophisticated contribution to the brass quintet repertoire. The opening Prelude is cool, the Polonaise is bouncy and the finale, Promenade is light-hearted if a little long-winded. The tuba has a prominent role throughout.

It is always good to have a “premiere recording” of a work by Ralph Vaughan Williams, even if it is only 31 seconds long. The Flourish on the 'Morris Call' (1935) was written for the International Folk Dance Festival held that year in the Albert Hall. It was based on a tune collected by Cecil Sharp in Gloucestershire. It is all over before the listener can get their stylistic bearings. It is hard to imagine that this tiny miniature was completed in the same year as the major choral suite, Five Tudor Portraits.

Joseph Horovitz’s Music Hall Suite (1964) is an attractive work for brass quintet. The five movements illustrate aspects of the once popular burlesque theatre, music hall, circus, and cabaret. The opening Soubrette Song is naturally flirtatious, the Trick Cyclists are bouncy, whilst the Adagio-Team is wistful. The final two movements are the “saucy and colourful” Soft Shoe Shuffle and the rumbustious Les Girls. A great little piece that deserves its popularity amongst brass ensemble enthusiasts.

The final work on this imaginative disc is Leonard Bernstein’s Dance Suite for brass quintet -his last finished composition, written in 1989. It was premiered on 14 January 1990 at the American Ballet Theater’s Fiftieth Anniversary Gala. The Suite was originally conceived as a ballet score; nevertheless, the choreographer deemed its five brief movements too succinct for staging. Each section is dedicated to a prominent choreographer, for example: Dancisca for Anthony honours Anthony Tudor; the Two-Step pays tribute to George Balanchine; and the finale, quirkily titled MTV after the cable television station, salutes Jerome Robbins, Bernstein’s collaborator on West Side Story. This closing movement features a groovy jazz-tinged middle section, complete with a drum kit or ‘traps,’ adding rhythmic flair. Though modest in length - each movement, save the finale, lasts under a minute: the suite offers a compelling and spirited farewell from one of America’s most energetic composers.

The playing is outstanding throughout, complimented by an equally respectable recording. The liner notes by Bernard Hughes provide a detailed discussion of all the works. There are resumes of the Onyx ensemble, conductor John Wilson and the pianist (in Price’s Octet) Viv McLean.

This is a superbly curated CD, which rewards unhurried listening and repeated return. Its carefully chosen repertoire features musical treasures from both sides of the Atlantic.

Track Listing:
William Walton (1902-83)
Roaring Fanfare (1976)
John Adams (b.1947)
China Gates (1977)
Benjamin Britten (1913-76)
Funeral March (completed by Bernard Hughes (b.1974)) (1938/2022)
Florence Price (1887-1953)
Octet for brass and piano (1930)
Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006)
Brass Quintet no.1, op.73 (1961)
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Novelette in Fourths (arr. Timothy Jackson (b.1972) (1919)
Benjamin Britten
A Fanfare for June 30th, 1970 (1970)
Gordon Langford (1930-2017)
Prelude, Polonaise and Promenade (date uncertain)
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Flourish on the 'Morris Call' (1935) (arr. Christopher Gordon (b.1956))
Joseph Horovitz (1926-2022)
Music Hall Suite (1964)
Leonard Bernstein (1918-90)
Dance Suite (1989-90)
Onyx Brass/John Wilson; Viv Mclean (piano) (Price).
rec. 11-12 April 2024, Fleming Hall, Royal College of Music, London
Chandos CHAN 20399

With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.