Michael Colgrass: Urban Requiem

Colgrass (Composer), Lindroth (Composer), Saint-Saens (Composer), Whitacre (Composer), Sousa (Composer), Gage (Conductor), Youngstown State Univ Wind Ensemble (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Youngstown State Univ Wind Ensemble
• Conductor: Gage
• Composer: Colgrass, Lindroth, Saint-Saens, Whitacre, Sousa
• Audio CD (June 24, 2008)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos Wind Band Classics
• ASIN: B0018D89CY
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #360,473 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Fanfare Magazine, William Zagorski, November 2008

A most rewarding disc encompassing a large stylistic array of repertoire ranging from Eric Whitacre's (b. 1970) nostalgically Coplanesque, hymn inspired and ultra Americanish October to Michael Colgrass's brilliant, moody, and stylistically eclectic Urban Requiem. Along the way one encounters Scott Lindroth's (b. 1968) frothily inventive Spin Cycle, arrangements of Saint-Saëns's Rondo capriccio, and Shostakovich's all-too-neglected Overture on Russian and Kyrgyz Folk Themes. I didn't think that effective arrangements of those last two pieces were possible. Given my personal evaluation of their sonic and affective demands, tampering with the originals would have resulted in diminishment. Arrangers Lee Brooks and Guy Duker, however, rose to the task, providing arrangements that are not merely faithful to the originals, but also provide fresh insights. Special kudos to flutist Kathryn Thomas Umble and clarinetist Robert Fitzer whose subtlety of phrasing and tone production grace the Saint-Saëns effort, and to saxophonists James Umble, Allen Cordingley, Kent Engelhardt, and Joseph Carey who traverse the multiple and mercurially shifting sound worlds of Colgrass's Urban Requiem with illuminating surefootedness and grace.

Listening to this offering, I found myself increasingly disbelieving that the Youngstown State University's Symphonic Wind Ensemble is a student organization. Granted, it drafts the best of the current best, and has had in-residence relationships with some of the most outstanding composers of our age, including Michael Colgrass, Joseph Schwantner, Karel Husa, Samuel Adler, and Eric Ewazen, to give a woefully incomplete list, but I still find the fit and finish of their performances astonishing.

The sound on this disc, like the efforts of all those chronicled by it, is fully up to the task.

Product Description

Pulitzer Prize winning composer Michael Colgrass's Urban Requiem headlines this recording. This nearly half hour work explores the technical and expressive qualities of the saxophone quartet, as well as providing an aural experience that vividly describes life in the Big Apple. Scott Lindroth's exciting Spin Cycle explores a variety of timbral and rhythmic aesthetics and is reflective of many of the technically exhilarating works currently being written for wind band. Lee Brooks's transcription of Saint-Saëns's popular Introduction and Rondo-Capriccioso gives this exciting work a new and fresh perspective. October demonstrates Eric Whitacre's exceptional melodic gift as well as his use of the sonorities of wind and percussion instruments. Guy Duker's setting of Shostakovich's powerful Overture on Russian and Kirghiz Folk Songs is an invigorating and challenging contribution to the repertoire. Finally, the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine by the American March King, John Philip Sousa, reminds us of the magic of his exceptional compositional talents and of the tradition of the wind band in the 21st century American music scene.