CD REVIEW -
Transatlantic
Onyx
Brass/McLean/Wilson
CHANDOS CHAN 20399
[TT 64:46]
Readers may recall
'Fanfares', a release from
the outstanding Onyx Brass in
2018. Some of what I wrote then
applies to this their latest
album. It contains 11 works by
ten different composers written
between 1919 and 2022.
As on the earlier
release Onyx have the nowadays
much in demand John Wilson
directing them, this time on five
pieces. These are Sir William
Walton's 59 second Roaring
Fanfare*, composed for Queen
Elizabeth II 's visit to London
Zoo for its 150th anniversary in
1976; Benjamin Britten's Funeral
March (1938)* completed by
Bernard Hughes, who is
responsible for the ever useful
booklet notes; and A Fanfare
for June 30th 1970* to do
with the retirement of the Royal
Opera House chief executive;
Florence Price's Octet for
Brasses and Piano* featuring
British born pianist Viv McLean,
who has performed in the UK and
around the world since winning
First Prize at the Maria Canals
Piano Competition in Barcelona;
and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Flourish
on the "Morris Call"*,
written for the 1935
International Folk Dance Festival
at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Minimalist
American composer John Adams China
Gates and George Gershwin's Novelette
in Fourths* Prelude for
Piano, the earliest written piece
here, are both arranged for Brass
Quintet. As one would expect,
there are tunes, too, to be found
in Quintet No.1 for Two
Trumpets, Horn, Trombone and Tuba
by former trumpet player, Sir
Malcolm Arnold; Prelude,
Polonaise and Promenade by
Gordon Langford; Music Hall
Suite by Joseph Horovitz,
which is my favourite; and Dance
Suite by Leonard Bernstein,
the last track of which is what
in today's parlance is known as a
banger. (Asterisks indicate
première recordings).
This is chamber
brass at its best and The Onyx
Brass – their full
complement is 19 – sound
gorgeous. Listed as one of its
players is David Pyatt, a past
principal horn of both the LSO
and LPO and now joint principal
of the Royal Opera House
Orchestra. The recording made in
the Fleming Hall, Royal College
of Music, London, is of customary
Chandos quality.
I assume the album
gets its name from including a
quartet of American composers,
and it sure is an antidote to
concerns about what is currently
coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW in Washington, D C.
©
Peter Burt, June 2025
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