Brass enthusiasts will welcome this opportunity of hearing some of the more exotic members of the brass family, such as the piccolo trumpet, Corno di Caccia (hunting horn) and Bach trumpet in D. All the items in this baroque programme are arrangements for trumpets, organ and timpani by Andreas Weil and members of the Arta Ensemble, and therein lies a problem. Though it was commonplace for 18^th century composers to arrange their own and other composers’ works for a variety of instruments, no other arrangements for this particular combination exist. The Fireworks music that gives this CD its title may possibly suggest one reason: it is a damp squib. The whole performance lacks the ‘open air’ ambience the music demands, and the organ proves an incongruous substitute for Handel’s lively band. The slow tempo adopted, in particular for the two Bourées and both minuets, does not help.

Such problems recur at various points throughout the remainder of the disc. The Bach chorale and choral preludes could have made a peaceful interlude after the fireworks, but the effect is spoiled by the injudicious use of the vox humana stop. The organ and timpani rarely produce the required brilliance in, for example, the ripieno sections of the Vivaldi concerto, though the Telemann comes through as the best item on this disc.

It gives me no pleasure to say that this CD misses the baroque spirit by several miles, for the players are clearly enthusiastic and technically highly proficient.

Roy Brewer

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