Customer Reviews

Glory of Gabrieli: Antiphonal Music Brass Choirs

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Absolutely the most breathtaking recording yet of Gabrielli, in a very crowded field of superb choices. Telarc's engineers no doubt are deserving of praise, but the playing by the Empire Brass is just stunning & your speakers will shake on deep notes at times. This fine ensemble has surpassed the already World-Class recordings of these same works of Gabrielli by the Phillip Jones Brass Ensemble, the London Brass, and even the fine recordings by the Canadian Brass. Again, I simply cannot say enough about Empire Brass' performances & Telarc's recording methods. Don't hesitate; this is the one Gabrielli disc to buy.

This is, quite simply, the finest brass ensemble recording to be released in the last decade. In addition to several radiant choir pieces by Gabrieli, this CD also features the handsome Renaissance polyphony of such English masters as Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. But the finest piece, perhaps appropriately, is an anonymous Gloria from 1500, which evokes that ageless celebration of the divine with a solemn religious grandeur that has seldom been equalled.

This CD is a must have for anybody who likes late Renaissance or Early Baroque music, or just enjoys the sound of brass! The Gabrieli pieces sing with such power and beauty, one can only wonder what Gabrieli or Palestrina might think of now if they heard such a wonderful recording! Equal balance among all voices allows the feeling of a small chamber group, instead of a double (or sometimes triple) brass choir. What a great CD for listening to for relaxation or for just pleasure! This CD, in my opinion, rivals the Canadian Brass CD of Antiphonal music for brass that came out about ten or so years ago. Both are must haves!

In short, this CD is abysmal. Ensemble precision and togetherness is extraordinarily sloppy, the playing styles from choir to choir do not match at all, balance is abominable (Choir 1 is 'in your face' while Choirs 2 & 3 sound like they're a football fields away), and the most reverberant space in the universe could not hide the fact that Rolf's chops sound fried from the very first note of the CD!! What is Telarc thinking anyways??? Don't they know that it's over???

Anyways, if you want a truly great recording of Gabrieli, buy their 1988 release entitled "The Music of Gabrieli" on Telarc CD-80204. This was recorded in 1988 when the quintet was in its prime and is, perhaps, the greatest recording of Gabrieli's music ever made.

I bought this specifically for the only track on the CD composed by Cavaccio - but was very pleasantly surprised by the rest / Gabrieli.

Certainly worth the price of the disc.