Schwerin is a Cathedral city in the North of Germany. Still part of the German Democratic Republic when the Schweriner Blechbläser-Collegium was founded in 1975, after reunification the group joined forces with musicians from nearby Lübeck. Their founder, animator, leading trumpeter and arranger of much of the music on this CD is Hans-Joachim Dreschler. Brass groups interested in extending their repertoire may like to note that his arrangements are published by Editions Marc Reift, CH-3693 Crans-Montana. The complete group as listed in the booklet consists of four trumpets, two horns, trombone, bass trombone and tuba, as well as a timpanist and, on this occasion, Jan Ernst, the organist of Schwerin Cathedral.

Anglo-American listeners tend to judge brass groups these days by the splendiferous displays of Canadian Brass and others of their ilk and it has to be said that to those accustomed to this sort of devil-may-care music-making the opening item here ("See the conqu’ring hero" to English ears) will give an impression of playing it safe both as an arrangement and as a performance (sample 1: track 1 from the beginning). I kept trying to tell myself that there are other ways of doing it, other ways of feeling the Christmas spirit, but I never entirely rid myself of the impression of a group of hard-boiled professionals doing very capably what they were paid to do. To be fair, the very long reverberation period rather saps up any rhythmic vitality which was on offer (at times, as in the outer movements of the Corrette Concerto, there does seem to be some; sample 2: track 23 from the beginning). On the other hand, the organist, in his solo pieces, is able to get more rhythmic profile across, also making the most of the colours available to him (sample 3: track 12 from the beginning). I should like to hear him and his instrument on a solo disc.

As a Christmas celebration this seems to me to fall short, lacking that "Great Joy" which its title proclaims. A few of the themes will be familiar to English-speaking listeners (but what a doleful arrangement of "In dulci jubilo" Johan Crüger provides); many more will be staple fare to German listeners, to whom the disc may have greater appeal, but surely they too would welcome a greater sense of "grosse Freude"? Brass addicts in search of rare repertoire will find some competent offerings here, but the point of the disc was surely another.

Christopher Howell

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