Customer Reviews

Fennell Conducts Sousa

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An utterly masterful set, containing many of Sousa's unjustly neglected works. (An integral recording of his complete marches is overdue by a good half-century.*) Fennell conducts with incredible verve, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble responds in kind, with immaculately tight and polished performances. The recording is demonstration-class. Sousa has never sounded better, and probably never will.

*EDIT: Actually, a nearly-complete recording of the marches has been available, as of the time of this review, for at least a good quarter-century--first on LP, now on CD: that being, a series of analog recordings by The Detroit Concert Band, led by Leonard B. Smith. Currently available from Walking Frog Records (on five CDs), the DCB/Smith collection unfortunately suffers from some serious problems--not the least of which is the highly variable and substandard quality of the recorded sound.

I've owned this CD for several years, and bought a copy recently as a Christmas gift. Frederick Fennell is a modern master of band and marches, and I own several of his recordings. What makes this CD a standout for me is the Mercury Living Presence recording and remastering method. I own over two dozen of this series because Living Presence does indeed represent a different method of producing music for the recorded media. It DOES sound more lifelike to me than conventional multimike recordings. To anyone considering purchase of this CD I'd recommend also ordering 'Screamers', the Living Presence CD of circus marches. To me this is feel-good music at its best, and terrific for listing in the car! Additionally, the Living Presence series stands out for its excellent liner notes with explanations of the Living Presence method. This CD is a keeper. Incidentally, the recipient of this CD has since gone out and bought several other Living Presence CD's after hearing this!s

This is an outstanding CD. The sound quality is very good. The instrumental balance is very good. It's interesting to compare the rather subtle difference in the percussion section performance between the two recording dates, particulalarly the cymbalist.
Sousa had an uncanny ability to score the cymbal strike at places which add significantly to the listening experience.
Hats off to Sousa, Fennell,and the Eastman Wind Ensemble

This is a superb collection of Sousa Marches from Frederick Fennell's old Mercury Records Sousa Series. It is amazing how good the sound comes across on CD -- comparing very favorably with CD recordings 20 years more recent. Fennell was, of course, one of the all time great Sousa interpreters and the Eastman one of the all time great Sousa bands.

Because I use this CD to pace me on the treadmill, I have had the opportunity to listen to it over and over again. Fennell was by no means perfect. He can be a bit bass-heavy and brass-heavy. The trombones drown out the woodwind melody in the trio of "High School Cadets," and even manage to overpower his all-but invincible trumpets in the break strains of "Gridiron Club" and "Golden Jubilee." He can extend the end of a line a bit too long, as in "Invincible Eagle" and "Cadets," and his first trumpet (and piccolo) can be too strident, particularly when accompanying a melody in the winds (I play the bassoon and saxophone and am accustomed to being drowned out in Sousa anyway).

But Fennell's defects have corresponding virtues. The trumpet work in "Gallant Seventh" is really glorious, and his percussions are a wonder (note, for example, the "Native American" section of his "New Mexico March.") His rhythms are rock-solid, if sometimes perhaps just a bit inflexible. Furthermore, his selections are terrific. Many rarely heard marches remind you that what is most popular in Sousa is not necessarily what is best in Sousa, with just enough "old chestnuts" thrown in to remind you who the composer is.

One minor point: the "playlist" in Amazon's bill lists No. 14 as "Golden Jubilee." It is not. It is "Pride of the Wolverines."

This CD of Sousa marches was recorded by Frederick Fennell (1914-2004) and the Eastman Wind Ensemble during the spring of 1960 and 1961. Fennell was one of the early pioneers of band recordings and helped to establish music that has become the staple of university and professional bands worldwide. His legacy as a conductor and author will be long remembered.

The music on the recording sounds exceptional, considering that it is ADD. The quality is very clear, as is the balance between sections. Often in analog recordings, the percussion can easily overpower the winds and cymbals sounding "tinty." Such is not the case here. Careful work was taken on the original and remastering of this recording.

If you're expecting to hear the "Stars and Stripes Forever," "The Washington Post," or "The Thunderer," you'll be sadly disappointed. They're not on this disc. Instead, are twenty-four wonderful performances spanning Sousa's years of creativity: 1880-1928. Sousa composed 136 marches and as Fennell states in the liner notes,"any Sousa anthology is certain to include a host of marches that are totally unfamiliar both to the public and to the performing musicians." Most of the famous marches can be found on many contemporary band recordings, so it's this reviewer's opinion that Fennell did the right thing.

If you're in a band, an aspiring teacher, a professional director, or an afficianado, this is a recording that you'll definitely enjoy and possibly use as a resource in scholarly endeavors. It's a great compilation done by an excellent ensemble and a phenomenal conductor. You won't be disappointed.

If there is ONE Sousa cd to get, this is definitely a top candidate. Fennell chose Sousa's best, but not necessarily his most famous. Conspicuously (which may be a relief to some) missing are Stars and Stripes, Washington Post, and Semper Fidelis.
Instead you get the far more interesting "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine", "Pride of the Wolverines", and "The Gridiron Club". Fennell and the Eastman are at their best in these, where you need that extra "oomph"...on some marches, such as "The Gallant Seventh" or "Sabres and Spurs" there seems to be a sense of lagging that harms the march sound, but maybe that's just me. In any case, Gunther Schuller pulls off a wonderful "Gallant Seventh" on the disc "Footlifters", Sony label. If you compare that with this performance, I think you might agree.
But don't let that small squabble stop you. Fennell + Sousa = Success, and I do not tentatively give this the full five stars, I give it in full sincerity.

I sneered at Sousa when I was younger, but his marches have grown on me over the years, because they are perfect and perfection cannot be denied. This disk contains many of his lesser known marches (omits Semper Fidelis, Washington Post March, Stars and Stripes Forever - widely available on other recordings), but those that are included are perfect gems.

This music comes from an era when people did not have the comforts and distractions of the 21st century, had hard luck, experienced war and financial ruin, disease and general hard times, but lived through them and prospered. Upbeat music was popular because people needed it. A careful listen to Sousa makes it evident that his marches were not one dimensional, but often included complex and minor key themes. Those that had experienced war first hand were well aware that it was not fun; Sousa's marches were written for people who knew the facts of life and death.

The recordings are from the early 1960s, and obviously analog, but excellent. Recording engineers in that era were perfecting the art of stereophonic recording for buyers that were becoming increasingly sophisticated and the quality that resulted from their efforts is evident in this disk.

The only thing better is a live performance of these pieces in the open air -- which is one of those things you remember your entire life.

As a retired Marine, I have found this CD to be very inspirational. I used to have a copy and it somehow got lost a while back. I considered myself to be very fortunate to have found it again at Amazon. I use this music at Marine Corps League functions and outdoor BBQs to motivate the hell out of people. Very stirring and to all militarists out there, I highly recommend this recording!

what a great CD! Great performance by Fennell and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. If you like Sousa, this is a CD to add to your list. The only drawback to this CD is that it doesn't have all of Sousa's marches on it.

This one's a Classic and the sound is remarkable considering
when it was recorded. Viva Mercury Records!

I do wish more of the familiar Sousa stuff was included.