GLINKA Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla (arr. Roberts).
BÖHME Sextet in E flat minor, Op. 30.
ALABIEV Quintet.
MUSSORGSKY Gopak of the Young Ukrainians from 'Sorochintsky Fair'.
Pictures at an Exhibition (both arr. Roberts).
Fine Arts Brass Ensemble.
Nimbus NI5645
[DDD] [65'37].
This is a thoughtfully-programmed, cleanly recorded disc which is guaranteed
to bring much pleasure. The three arrangements (by Stephen Roberts, the horn
player of the ensemble) are models of ingenuity and demonstrate a knowledge
of brass writing that only an experienced player can bring.
The Glinka which opens this disc is a completely successful virtuoso show-piece.
The Fine Arts Ensemble seems to relish demonstrating its abilities - ensemble
is tight, tonguing is clean (even in the most rapidly articulated passages)
and there is an air of confidence about the whole. Oskar Böhme's Sextet
dates from around 1906 (in keeping with the Russian theme of this disc,
Böhme was principal trumpet of the Mariinsky Theatre from 1903 to 1921).
The Ensemble avoid all sense of over-sentimentality in the slow movement
(it could so easily sound hackneyed) and ooze charm in the finale. They seem
out to prove that this is a piece deserving more outings. It will be finding
its way to my player again, certainly.
Alexander Alabiev (1787-1851) remains best known for his song, The
Nightingale (recorded by, amongst others, Lily Pons and Amelita Galli-Curci).
His single-movement brass quintet of 1847 was one of the earliest to be written
for valved instruments and is a work of great charm, relished with nimble
passage-work and confident swagger on this occasion - though this is not
to deny the intimacy created in the slow introduction. Mussorgsky's Gopak
of the Young Ukrainians is an enjoyable, short romp, but it is after
all, Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' that is emblazoned over the
cover of the disc and which takes a full half of the disc's playing time.
A brass arrangement sits somewhere between the single-instrument piano original
and the well known Ravel orchestration. Without a full symphony orchestra
to draw on, the arranger has to use all means at his disposal to achieve
the necessary variety, and Roberts succeeds fully. Helpfully, Nimbus not
only track each movement individually, but also provide descriptions of the
original paintings to help us along our tour. There is much delicacy as well
as grandeur in this performance - 'The Old Castle' is marvellously melancholy,
'Tuileries' is a lesson on how to make brass instruments 'dance', whilst
the muted antics of 'The Ballet of the Chicks in their Shells' are marvellously
witty. Perhaps the women in Limoges market could have chattered in a bit
less civilised a fashion, but the dissonances in 'Catacombs' are fully realised
and the virtuosity of 'The Hut on Fowl's Legs' is stunning. Of course one
misses the great percussion strokes in the 'Great Gate', but this is a slight
cavil. Throughout this particular gallery there is plenty of character, a
description which seems apt for this disc as a whole. Strongly recommended.
Reviewer
Colin Clarke
Performance
Recording
