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 Sublime and Great Recording Aug 08, 2009
This recording, as the jacket explains, was done spontaneously in a short stretch of a few very inspired hours by 3 of the best brass ensembles in the world. The beauty of Gabrieli and the exquisite and refine harmony of these musicians makes this CD one of the very best recordings of any brass group at any time for any composer. It is a Divine set of pieces in full harmony with the intent of the composer, a great classic.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Purists look elsewhere... All else, buy now! Jul 16, 2008
Imagine a pastry chef of a future age who sees a perfect color picture of an historical artifact known as a "hamburger." Using this image, he perfectly recreates it using the tool of his trade, the primary ingredients being meringue for the bun and mousse for the burger. The result is absolutely delicious - in fact, a superlative dessert.
Sometime later, a legitimate hamburger recipe is discovered. The pastry chef is roundly derided for his "recreation," an historically inaccurate artifact. He is disgraced.
But happy. As are the many millions who continue to enjoy his concoction.
For genuine hamburger, look elsewhere - this is not Gabrieli as heard in St. Marks' during the Renaissance. But for one of the most spectacular musical "desserts" you will ever enjoy, click the "buy" button immediately. Brass players have rightly sung their Hosannas to this recording since its release in the late 1960's, but you don't have to be a brass player to be almost literally "blown away" by some of the most exciting playing of any sort ever released on a commercial recording.
The documentation is even better in this CD re-release than it was for the original LP, including not only the original liner notes confessing the logistical near-impossibility of getting the three finest orchestral brass sections in the world together in one room for a full weekend of recording, but additional commentary from a performing participant and great contemporary brass players who - in a very real sense - owe their own spectacular careers to the inspiration they received from this release.
But most of all there is the music. The players - the brass sections of the Philadelphia, Chicago, and Cleveland Orchestras - had never before worked together, and rehearsed and recorded the entire LP in nine hours over the course of one weekend. The immediate cameraderie and spontaneity are clearly evident, eclipsed only by the fact that these were some of the finest virtuoso musicians in history, regardless of instrument. My personal advice is to wait until you will bother nobody, turn the knob to "11" (with a nod to "Spinal Tap"), and let your bones vibrate and your spine tingle.
And don't forget to lick your fingers!
A delectable bonus is the organ and brass music from a second release featuring E. Power Biggs and members of the Boston Symphony from the same era. This would be an excellent release in its own right, with particularly fine playing from solo trumpeter Armando Ghitalla, but - to be fair - it was unwise to pair it with one of the most storied brass recordings in history.
0 of 5 found the following review helpful:
received as expected Mar 31, 2008
Item received as described. Excellent seller. Quick shipping. Would buy from this seller again.
Essential recording for every brass player Jul 24, 2007
The Gabrieli selections on this CD represent the most important brass recording ever released. I received the vinyl LP as a gift from a member of a brass quintet in which I played in the early 1980's. It inspired me to organize a performance of Gabrieli's antiphonal music. I have organized about 20 other performances since then and have transcibed 8 of the canzons not readily available in the United States. All this began with inspiration from this recording. The music was originally written for Renaissance instruments but works superbly on modern brass instruments. The music is hardly somber. Most of it is joyous and exultant, and not a few canzons play tricks on the audience. I also recommend the Empire Brass recording with Carl St. Clair as conductor (the CD with the dome of St. Mark's in front of the orange sky). The Philadelphia/Cleveland/Chicago recording emphasizes the collection of 1597. The Empire Brass recording emphasizes the postumous collection of 1615. The 1597 collection is the more lyrical. The 1615 collection is the more spectacular.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Antiphonal Masterpiece May 16, 2007
This recording unifies arguably the 3 best brass sections from American Brass orchestras in a performance of the antiphonal music of Giovanni Gabrieli. The Chicago, Philadelphia, and Cleveland brass sections are used here and they work together as groups as well as they ever did with their corresponding orchestras. This was recorded without conductor, rehearsal, or even a tuning note, however, this is irrelevant when looking at the result. Given performers of the caliber of Adolph "Bud" Herseth, Arnold Jacobs, and Gilbert Johnson it is little wonder that this fine quality could be achieved with minimum preparation. I have looked at a number of other examples of this music including recordings by the Empire Brass and the Canadian Brass (and friends) and neither comes close to the emotion and beauty of this performance.
The different groups played directed off the vocal and instrumental parts written by Gabrieli making any adjustment for transposition in their head on sight, thus allowing them all to be as much focused on the music as possible as they were not looking at 3rd generation arrangements which always tend to leave out markings. These possibly were the best brass performers in America at the time and their interpretations are unified through exceptional listening across the ensemble for intonation, style, and tempo. A slightly non-justifiable reason that I hold for this album's excellence is the raw energy and beauty of this unprepared collaboration. In the time of Gabrieli, rehearsals were rare, and musicians would, on a daily basis, sit down and perform music that they hadn't studied, and while these are not the original instruments for which Gabrieli wrote, the quick pacing of this production (one weekend) to me lends more on the positive side for the enjoyment of the listener.
In short, this is a remarkable collaboration of some of the best performers on fantastic Renaissance literature and worthy of owning merely for that fact, and when combined with live and engaging performances where the music is played expertly from one section to the next off of each individual, this album becomes a gem for anyone with an interest in the brass ensemble sound.
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