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 18th 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
Arta trumpet ensemble: Andreas
Michel, Thomas Reiner, Jerry A.Ringo; Andreas Weil (organ)